Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio affirmed on Wednesday that he remains duty-bound to represent his client, businesswoman and fugitive Cassandra Lee Ong, despite having no communication with her for nearly a year.
Ong is currently facing a charge of qualified human trafficking alongside former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and several others.
Topacio acknowledged the central difficulty in preparing a defense for a client who cannot be reached. Citing principles of legal ethics, he asserted that under the Code of Professional Responsibility, a lawyer is sworn to continue service unless formally dismissed by the client or with the court’s approval.
On Ong’s continued absence, Topacio invoked the concept of a “fugitive from injustice,” maintaining she fled not to evade prosecution, but to escape what he characterized as persecution.
“This is not prosecution anymore,” Topacio said, accusing authorities of pursuing her amid what he alleged was a pattern of political maneuvering. He claimed the renewed focus on Ong, including the activation of an arrest warrant, was being used to divert attention from separate controversies involving “the president’s son and other personalities” in a “salt control” issue.
“Whenever something explodes, they pull out all these unconfirmed issues and link them,” Topacio said, calling it an “insult to the intelligence of the Filipino people.”
Ong is the representative of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, which has been linked to human trafficking and abuse cases. Earlier reports disclosed that Roque had served as a legal counsel for the offshore operations.
Topacio also questioned the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) recent decision to offer a P1 million reward for information leading to Ong’s arrest.
He contrasted the substantial reward with what he claimed were smaller or nonexistent rewards offered for “more severe crimes,” such as the killings of journalists Johnny Dayang and Noel Belen Samar, or for suspects recruiting students into insurgent groups.
“Such lopsided law enforcement cannot but cast doubts on the motives of the government,” he said.
The lawyer confirmed that a counter-affidavit has been submitted for Ong’s case, clarifying that she has been charged but not yet arraigned on the human trafficking complaint. The Pasig Court reportedly canceled Ong’s passport, along with Roque’s, on 24 November 2025.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission had previously reported tracking Ong in Japan earlier this year.