Despite a year-long communication blackout, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio on Thursday said he remains duty-bound to represent businesswoman and fugitive Cassandra Lee Ong.

Ong faces a qualified human trafficking charge alongside former presidential spokesman Harry Roque and several others.

Topacio acknowledged the core challenge confronting the defense: building a case for a client who cannot be reached.

He said that under the principles of legal ethics and the Code of Professional Responsibility, lawyers are bound by their oath to continue representation as long as legal service has not been terminated. Topacio noted that counsel may withdraw only if dismissed by the client or with the court’s approval.

On Ong’s continued absence, Topacio invoked what he described as the concept of a “fugitive from injustice,” insisting that she fled not to evade prosecution but to escape persecution. He accused authorities of pursuing her as part of a broader pattern of political maneuvering.

“This is not prosecution anymore,” he said, adding that he had long observed signs of persecution, including what he called an “ethics violation for depriving her of the right to counsel” involving other lawyers, among them Roque.

He tied what he described as renewed focus on Ong — including the activation of an arrest warrant — to controversies involving “the president’s son and other personalities” in a separate “salt control” issue.

“They are pulling out all the stops. Believe me,” he said. “Whenever something explodes, they pull out all these unconfirmed issues and link them.”

The lawyer also questioned the Department of Justice’s decision to offer a P1-million reward for information on Ong’s whereabouts, contrasting it with what he described as smaller or nonexistent rewards for “more severe crimes,” such as the killings of journalists or the recruitment of students into insurgent groups.

Topacio described the reward offer as “the latest in a series of pathetic efforts by the present government to divert attention from the smouldering flood control scandal that threatens to burn down the Palace, figuratively speaking.”

“We cannot help but notice that every time the name of the President and those of his relatives become trending topics in connection with the so-called Floodgate,” he said, “the administration resurrects other issues long dead in order to cover up its stink. This is an insult to the intelligence of the Filipino people.”

“With all due respect, I do not believe it’s a long shot,” he added, arguing that a political motive was evident. “We can already see the pattern.”

He reiterated Ong had faced “non-stop harassment” since the time of the “much-discredited QuadComm,” and questioned why similar rewards were not offered for the killers of journalists Johnny Dayang and Noel Belen Samar or for suspects recruiting students into armed groups.

“Such lopsided law enforcement cannot but cast doubts on the motives of the government,” he said.

Topacio said the legal process for Ong’s earlier case — for which a counter-affidavit has been submitted — would continue, clarifying that Ong has been charged but not yet arraigned on the human trafficking complaint.

He claimed that despite extraordinary challenges posed by Ong’s fugitive status and lack of communication, he would continue to provide “the best legal services” to his client.