Marcos, first lady do not know Cassandra Ong – envoy

MANILA, Philippines — The photograph showing Cassandra Li Ong with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos is authentic but the narrative is not, the President's special envoy to China for trade, investments and tourism said on Monday.

Benito Techico was referring to the photo presented by Ong's lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, to the media that showed his client posing with the President, the First Lady and several others.

Techico clarified that his group of «food tasters» was also in the photo.

He said it was taken inside the Hao Hao Restaurant in November 2020.

«The photo was taken before Ferdinand Marcos became our president and we were having dinner that night,» he said.

He said the owner of the restaurant approached the group to introduce a person and also requested that a photo be taken.

«Naturally, since he is a very accommodating person, the President said yes,» Techico said.

«Things are that simple. The group of Ong arrived, they asked that they be introduced to our group with President Marcos and the First Lady, they requested to take a picture and after that Ong left. I hope they don't add color to what happened,» he added.