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