Quadcomm lifts contempt orders on Ong, Alice Guo

After nearly four months of detention, the House Quad Committee (Quadcomm) has lifted the contempt order against Katherine Cassandra Ong, the 24-year-old representative of a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga, earlier this year.

Ong, a key figure in the POGO scandal, was first detained in the House of Representatives on 26 August after repeatedly snubbing congressional summons. She was turned over by the Bureau of National Investigation (NBI), which had custody of her following her arrest in Indonesia with former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo’s sister, Sheila Guo.

Ong is the “girlfriend” of Wesley, the Guos’ brother. Alice, Sheila and Wesley fled the country at the height of the crackdown on the illegal industry.

In September, Ong was again cited in contempt and was transferred to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, where she is still incarcerated.

As the Quad Committee wrapped up its 13th hearing for this year late Thursday, panel co-chair Stephen Paduano announced that Ong’s camp had appealed for the lifting of her contempt order, citing her medical condition.

Ong had earlier requested a “friend” to accompany her to the CIW as she suffered “severe mental breakdowns and anxiety attacks” and was in a “state of severe depression.”

“The doctors of the CIW and the House of Representatives confirmed that she is not fit to attend and withstand the congressional hearings. With this, Mr. Chairman, I move that we lift the contempt order for Miss Cassandra Ong,” Paduano said, a motion approved by committee chairman Ace Barbers.

Barbers then ordered the CIW and Ong’s lawyers to be informed of the decision.

Ong’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, who has sharply criticized the quad committee, welcomed the decision. “We are thankful that the spirit of the season has permeated their souls,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Ong has been at the center of the POGO controversy and has faced intense scrutiny in both House and Senate investigations that unearthed extensive dealings and connections between the offshore industry, illegal drug syndicates, crimes and unlawful land acquisitions in the country.

Ong was the authorized representative of Lucky South 99 Corp. and a stakeholder of Whirlwind Corp., which leased land to the former.

Lucky South was initially registered as a business process outsourcing (BPO) entity in 2019, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was later discovered to have engaged in activities beyond those permitted for a BPO.

The panel also lifted the contempt order against Alice Guo and Tony Yang, a Chinese businessman and brother of Michael Yang, former legal economic adviser to then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

Guo and Yang had drawn the panel’s ire for “lying” and “evasiveness” during questioning about their dealings in POGOs.

Guo remains detained on various criminal charges, including qualified human trafficking, while Yang is in the custody of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

He has been sued by the NBI for falsification of public documents, perjury, and violating a 1936 law requiring judicial authority before using an alias, except for literary pseudonyms.

The quad committee also lifted the contempt order against various other personalities, except for Duterte’s former spokesperson, Harry Roque, who evaded the House’s arrest and fled to the United Arab Emirates.