The House of Representatives’ joint committees are prepared to grant Cassandra Li Ong’s request to be detained in jail if she continues to withhold information related to the ongoing investigation into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO), according to Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers.
In an interview with Super Radyo dzBB, Barbers, the chairman of the House quad committee leading the probe, stated, “Since she said she prefers to be jailed over being held in the House of Representatives detention facility, we will grant her that if she continues to withhold information on the illegal POGO operations.”
Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, is under scrutiny for her company’s alleged involvement in illegal activities at a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga. Her lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, previously noted that Ong would rather be imprisoned than face further humiliation during Senate inquiries into the escape of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
Ong skipped a Senate hearing, citing medical conditions such as low blood sugar and blood pressure. She has also filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asserting her right to remain silent and invoking protection against self-incrimination during Congressional hearings on POGO-related crimes.
In August, Ong and Shiela Guo, the dismissed mayor’s supposed sister, were intercepted and flown back to the Philippines from Indonesia amid the investigation.