Cassandra Ong FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — In what was a light moment during the grueling 13-hour hearing of the House of Representatives’ quad-committee, Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop chided Katherine Cassandra Li Ong for supposedly having preferential treatment towards dashing lawmakers.
Acop, during the latter part of the quad-committee hearing on Wednesday, expressed confusion as to why Ong refused to answer questions from Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro but responded immediately to 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez and Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez.
“Now, Madam Cassie Ong, kanina no’ng si Honorable Luistro ang nagtatanong po sa inyo, eh para bang ayaw niyong sumagot, tinanong pa kita what was your answer, ang sagot mo sa akin ‘I refuse to testify’. Bakit noong si Attorney, si Honorable Gutierrez at saka si Honorable Fernandez ang nagtanong, relax na relax kang sumagot,” Acop said.
(Now, Madam Cassie Ong, a while ago when it was Honorable Luistro who was asking you, you did not want to answer. I even asked you why, and you said ‘I refuse to testify’. Why is it that you were relaxed when Honorable Gutierrez and Honorable Fernandez were raising questions?)
“Kaya tuloy ako hindi nagtanong kanina. Oo, dahil kanina refuse to testify ang k’wan mo, ang sagot mo iha eh. Kaya tuloy hindi na ako nagtanong. Pero napansin ko no’ng ‘yong mga gwapong lalaki ang nagtatanong, eh sumagot po kayo at relaxed na relaxed na. May I know the reason why?” he asked.
(That’s why I did not ask questions a while ago. Because you answered by saying that you refuse to testify. But I observed that when handsome guys were asking you, you answered immediately and you seemed relaxed.)
In response, Ong said she really did not want to give answers but the advice of her lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, to respond to the queries just coincided with the two lawmakers mentioned.
“Okay, can I explain po ‘di ba? No’ng una, I really want to refuse to answer po, and then kinausap po ako ng abugado ko na magsalita na sa committee na ito, that’s why nagsalita po ako, tumiming lang po talaga kay Madam Chair,” Ong said.
(Okay, can I explain? First, I really want to refuse to answer, and then I talked to my lawyer who told me to answer to the committee, that’s why I just talked, it just timed with the questions of the Madam Chair.)
Prior to this exchange, Acop also asked Ong if she was able to discuss issues with Fernandez ahead of the quad-committee hearing, saying that it seems the latter knows more than the rest of the panel’s members.
In response, Ong said that he was able to exchange messages and even have a phone call with Fernandez, for one instance.
“Before this hearing — because we conducted a joint committee hearing of the games and amusements and the public order and safety. You were cited for contempt there, that is why you are here today. Since that hearing, were you able to talk with Honorable Fernandez?” Acop asked.
“Because he knows a lot that I don’t know. I’m an investigator, I hope you understand that. No, because when you went in, the way you and Honorable Fernandez looked at each other had a different meaning. You were glancing at him several times to the point that I thought he is your lawyer, not Attorney Topacio eh. Did you text each other or talk over the phone? Yes or no?” he added.
“Once lang ‘yon pare isang beses lang,” Fernandez, who was heard talking on the background, said.
“Once only […] Text and and phone call, once lang po,” Ong admitted.
Prior these discussions, the quad-committee cited Ong for contempt anew after she refused to answer questions from lawmakers, saying that she was invoking her right against self-incrimination.
Eventually, Ong changed her answers, replying with a more direct “I refuse to testify,” prompting Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. to make the motion.
READ: House quad-panel cites Cassandra Ong for contempt anew
But Ong’s tone eventually changed, as she started to answer questions during Gutierrez’ turn to interpellate. Gutierrez — who was one of the few lawmakers who got Vice President Sara Duterte to speak during the deliberations for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) proposed budget for 2025 — managed to get confirmation that Ong worked for both Whirlwind Corporation and Lucky South 99.
Whirlwind Corporation, where Ong holds a 58 percent stake, is the company that leased land in Porac, Pampanga, to Lucky South 99, which then set-up a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub.
There were hunches from lawmakers that Whirlwind and Lucky South 99 were interconnected — a belief that was confirmed when Ong answered Gutierrez’ queries.
READ: After VP Duterte, Rep. Gutierrez also gets Cassandra Ong to speak
Like Ong, Vice President Duterte also refrained from directly answering questions raised by lawmakers on Tuesday, only saying that she either forgoes the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format, or insisting that they have already coordinated with the Commission on Audit regarding the notice of disallowance on the confidential funds (CF).
Due to Duterte’s answers, tensions flared with ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro likening the Vice President to a squid who releases ink when under pressure.
The breakthrough came during Gutierrez’s questioning, as Duterte claimed that there was a script being followed since 2023, where the CF issue would be used to attack her and the OVP.
Gutierrez asked why the OVP no longer spent its CF for the fourth quarter of 2023. According to the Vice President, they no longer used the CF after Congress removed the secret funds for the proposed 2024 budget, to show that they can survive without it.