Ong seeks SC TRO on Senate, House probes

MANILA, Philippines —  Quad committee resource person Cassandra Li Ong is asking the Supreme Court (SC) to prevent Congress from forcing her to answer questions during the investigation into her alleged ties to a raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub in Pampanga, and from violating her right against self-incrimination and to remain silent.

Ong filed yesterday before the SC a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction against the House of Representatives and Senate committees conducting an investigation into Lucky South 99, the POGO raided in Porac for which Ong was the authorized representative.

In her 27-page petition, Ong claimed that chairpersons and members of the House’s quad com, during its Aug. 28 hearing, intimidated her into answering their questions by citing her in contempt and ordering her to be detained at the Correctional Institute of Women in Mandaluyong City instead of the Congress detention facility, where she was initially held.

She also claimed that the committee ordered security staff to physically separate her from her lawyer during the hearing and threatened the lawyer with ejection from the hearings for supposedly coaching her.

Ong also claimed that due to fear induced by the quad com, she was forced to sign a waiver to allow the panel to look into her bank accounts since she was “afraid of being detained in a facility for convicted criminals.”

She later reneged on her earlier commitment to sign the waiver following the filing of money laundering complaints against her before the Department of Justice.

In a separate hearing on Sept. 4, Ong said she was also publicly scolded, told not to listen to her lawyers as they are allegedly milking her for money and was subjected to insinuations that she had been in a relationship with her alleged boss and godfather.

With these instances, Ong claimed that her right against self-incrimination and right to remain silent have been violated, adding that the inquiries into her alleged participation in the POGO hub “have gone beyond securing information needed to craft proposed legislation.”

She also said that her right to counsel and the right to be treated with respect as a resource person in a legislative hearing in aid of legislation have also been violated.

She said that the acts of lawmakers of isolating her from counsel, undermining her faith in counsel, terrorizing her with pictures of alleged torture victims and telling her that she will be charged with human trafficking and making vulgar and improper insinuations “are all intended to make her give up unwillingly her right to remain silent” and to “pressure her into giving information.”

“In so doing, the House committees have clearly abused their powers and plainly exceeded their jurisdiction to inquiries in aid of legislation,” the petition read.

With this, Ong asked the SC to issue a TRO or preliminary injunction against the respondents “from doing any act and thing violative of the constitutional rights of the petitioner to remain silent, from incriminating herself and to have the advice of counsel in every step of the proceedings.”

She also asked the high tribunal to stop the respondents from exerting any undue pressure and influence, committing any acts or intimidation or threats of verbal, mental or psychological abuse, or any acts of a punitive nature resulting from her invocation of her constitutional rights, threats of any sanctions against her lawyer for the exercise of his profession.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jose Luis Bautista, the House’s medical director, informed lawmakers that Ong has already been discharged from hospital and is now well enough to attend the POGO hearings after being hospitalized last week for exhibiting low blood sugar and low blood pressure.

“Our in-house medical personnel can be fully prepared to handle any other medical condition she might have as she continues to appear in the Quad Com hearings,” Bautista said.

Bautista informed the lawmakers that Ong refused to eat the food they gave her, although she ordered food from outside. He also disclosed the medical equipment cannot even read how low Ong’s blood sugar was.

Ong, 24, is one of the incorporators of Whirlwind Corp. which leased a property to the POGO in Porac, which was also raided for various illicit activities, including human trafficking, forced labor and scams.

Apart from the money laundering complaint, Ong is also facing a qualified trafficking complaint in connection with Lucky South 99.

She is also facing charges of disobedience of summons, a violation of Article 150 of the Revised Penal Code, for evading arrest orders against her issued by the House of Representatives.

Ong was first cited in contempt by the House for ignoring its summons to attend the hearing into the POGO hub, prompting the lower chamber to issue an arrest warrant against her.

She was again cited in contempt for being evasive in answering questions from lawmakers during the quad com hearing. – Delon Porcalla