‘I’m not a dummy’: Cassandra Ong denies running POGO despite records

MANILA, Philippines – It is the second House of Representatives hearing for the high-value witness Cassandra Ong, but lawmakers are driven to frustration because the 24-year-old refuses even offers of a potential witness protection and asserted on Wednesday, September 4, that she was not “a dummy” for the POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operation) in Porac, Pampanga.

“Hindi po ako dummy (I am not a dummy),” Ong said after being pummeled by questions aiming to establish her link to the POGO in Porac named Lucky South 99.

It was already past 5 pm on Wednesday and several lawmakers have already had outbursts over Ong’s “attitude,” but she did not budge, standing firm that she was only a majority stockholder (58%) of Whirlwind, the real estate company that leased its compound to Lucky South 99 POGO. Ong said she would answer all question in the proper venue—or in court if she is eventually charged for the money laundering complaint filed against her and dismissed mayor Alice Guo.

“You don’t want to be protected by being cooperative with this committee, and you would rather face the music in the court… In other words, you would not cooperate by naming names?” said Sta Rosa, Laguna Representative Dan Fernandez.

“Wala po akong mabibigay na pangalan (I cannot give any names),” said Ong, as she was again threatened to be sent to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong, a facility for convicts. She is currently detained in the House of Representatives premises.

“In the appropriate time, we will try to exhaust more ways to make Ong cooperate,” said Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Ace Barbers, shelving the motion to send her to the CIW.

Not a POGO operator?

It was the raid in June of the Lucky South 99 POGO where evidence of torture and trafficking was found. Ong, throughout the two hearings, denied being a Lucky South operator despite many documents naming her as the POGO’s representative.

Rappler has seen three documents—1. A Letter of No Objection (LONO) from the Porac local government; 2. a board resolution of Lucky South 99; and 3. a lease agreement between Whirlwind and Lucky South 99—that named Ong as the POGO’s authorized representative.

Ong has also confirmed paying Lucky South 99’s hundreds of thousand dollars worth of remittances to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), but for her, all of these do not amount to her being a POGO operator.

Lawmakers spent a lot of time on this issue because for them, everything that Ong had done for Lucky South 99 made her directly involved with the POGO operations.

“Noong una po, ang Whirlwind at Lucky South 99 ay iisa. Pero ‘nung huli po naibenta na po ang Lucky South, last year (At first, Whirlwind and Lucky South 99 were one entity, but in the end, Lucky South 99 was sold, last year)” said Ong.

Ong further distinguished Lucky South 99 from the POGO, saying “Lucky South is just renting out to POGOs,” and by POGOs she meant “the Chinese.”

This could refer to the business process outsourcing (BPOs) acting as service providers, because that was how Pagcor designed offshore gaming, and precisely the design that was criticized as having allowed so many sub-licensees, including criminal ones.

This was the line of questioning of Bukidnon 2nd District Representative Jonathan Keith Flores, but upon further interrogation, Ong wanted to consult her lawyer and double check her records.

This agitated lawmakers, and Flores settled for another line of questioning, telling Ong: “Sometimes when we make up stories, it becomes more confusing. It makes it more difficult to answer.”

Connection to Alice Guo

Ong was arrested in Indonesia with Shiela Guo, the sister of Alice. Ong said she knew Alice Guo only because her boyfriend, Wesley Guo, was the brother of the former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac.

is her boyfriend.

But according to the money laundering complaint, Ong was also “a silent partner in the Bamban POGO, as she was the one who contributed in the construction of the Baofu compound.”

Baofu is the leasing company incorporated by Guo and then later rented its Bamban compound to the Hongsheng/Zun Yuan POGO, similar to what Whirlwind was to the Lucky South 99 POGO in Porac.

Past 6 pm, Wedensday, Ong complained of dizziness. The House physician reported that she had low blood sugar, and low blood pressure. The doctor recommended to excuse Ong, which the lawmakers supported, even proposing taking her to the hospital.

With Ong excused, lawmakers started interrogation of AR Dela Serna, former executive assistant to Harry Roque. Roque was hired by Ong to lawyer for Whirlwind in an ejectment case. Later Roque helped set up a meeting with Pagcor so Ong could reapply for Lucky South 99’s license.

– Rappler.com