BY ASHZEL HACHERO and RAYMOND AFRICA
THE National Bureau of Investigation yesterday turned over Shiela Leal Guo, one of the siblings of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, to the Senate and Cassandra Li Ong to the House of Representatives.
Warrants of arrest have been issued by the Senate against Guo, her siblings and others for their repeated failure to attend hearings on the crimes associated with the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hubs in Bamban and Porac, Pampanga.
Senate spokesperson Arnel Jose Banas said Shiela was received by the Senate at 12:29 p.m., and had her undergo a medical examination as part of standard operating procedures.
“Guo, along with her companion Cassandra Li Ong, is scheduled to appear at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 regarding the alleged illegal activities of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators,” Banas said in a statement.
He said Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (ret.) Lt. Gen. Roberto Angcan has assured the safety and security of Shiela inside the Senate premises, adding that a “round-the-clock security team is posted near Guo’s accommodation.”
Guo, in handcuffs, was escorted by NBI operatives during her transfer from the agency’s headquarters in Quezon City to the Senate.
“Merong (there are) warrants against them but remember, we filed three criminal charges against the two. So, after their Senate investigation, they will be turned over to us,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago said, adding the charges involve violation of the country’s immigration laws, obstruction of justice, and the use of alleged fake passports.
Ong had been cited in contempt by a House panel investigating the same POGO operation and was ordered detained for 30 days.
The two were taken into custody by Indonesian immigration authorities and were brought back to Manila last Thursday night.
HOUSE TO DIG DEEP
The House of Representatives took custody of Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, an incorporator of the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga who is a central figure in the ongoing investigation of the four joint committees looking into the proliferation of POGOs under the Duterte administration and illegal activities associated with its operations.
Ong, an authorized representative of Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc., the operator of the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, was turned over to the NBI to the House on the strength of an arrest and detention order issued by the quad comm for repeatedly snubbing its summons.
House sources released Ong’s photos in detention to members of the media at past 2 p.m.
House Sergeant-at-Arms, retired Police Maj. Gen. Napoleon Taas, officially received Ong at 12:57 p.m. from the NBI, with turnover papers signed by NBI Assistant Director Winmar Ramos.
The papers showed Ong was informed of her legal rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to bail, protection against torture, and prohibition of unlawful detention.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, who chairs the quad comm, said Ong’s presence is crucial because she is the House’s “only link to Lucky South 99 and other illegal POGO hubs that were raided by the PAOCC (Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission).
“Malaki ang participation niya because she appears to be the liaison between these illegal POGOs and Pagcor (Her participation is big because she appears to be the liaison between these illegal POGOs and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.),” said Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs which leads the quad comm panels.
The three other panels in the quad comm are the House Committees on Public Order and Safety of Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez; public accounts of Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lingkod) and human rights of Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr.
SPOTLIGHT ON ROQUE
Abante has said POGO money was used to bankroll the war on drugs by rewarding policemen who killed drug suspects under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
Barbers said Ong has to identify the owners of Lucky South 99, including its lawyers, and tell lawmakers if she was aware of the scam hubs, tortures, prostitution and other criminal activities.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chair Alejandro Tengco earlier said former presidential spokesman Harry Roque went to his office last year with Ong to discuss the firm’s unpaid “arrears” worth $500,000.
Roque, however, has denied lawyering for Ong and Lucky South 99, saying he only accompanied her for his client, Whirlwind Corp., the company that leased the land to Lucky South.
Ong reportedly has a 58 percent stake at Whirlwind.
Ong has been charged and underwent inquest proceedings on Aug. 23, 2024, for violations under Section 1(c) of Presidential Decree No. 1829 and Section 45(h) of Commonwealth Act No. 613, also known as the “Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.”
The NBI has requested to be notified before any decision to release Ong from Congress custody is made.
Abante Jr. said Ong will be asked to shed light on the alleged connections between Roque and Lucky South 99.
“The quad-committee intends to invite Ms. Ong to our next hearing to shed light on critical issues. For instance, her testimony will help us ascertain the true nature of Atty. Harry Roque’s ties to Lucky South 99,” Abante said. “During our hearings, Atty. Roque has insisted that he is not representing this POGO, despite substantial evidence suggesting otherwise.”
Abante said it is hard to believe that Roque was unaware that Cassandra Ong “is not only the president of Whirlwind, a supposed real estate firm but also the president of Lucky South 99, which actually owns the POGO hub.” He also noted that Whirlwind appears to be purchasing properties to facilitate POGO operations.
“As the saying goes, ‘If it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it is most likely a duck.’ The actions of Atty. Roque on behalf of Lucky South 99 contradicts his words, and we believe Ms. Ong can help us settle this matter once and for all,” Abante said.
Fernandez earlier revealed the ties that bind illegal POGOs and illegal drugs traders, saying it involves a complex network of Chinese citizens, including Duterte’s former presidential adviser Michael Yang.
Fernandez cited the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that suspended Mayor Alice Guo, who had 36 accounts, was involved in bank transactions amounting to P29 billion.
He said the joint panel was able to establish that Hong Jiang Yang, Yang’s brother, had transactions worth P3.3 billion with Guo, who according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, is one of the brains behind the POGO hub raided in Bamban, Tarlac.
ALICE STILL IN INDONESIA?
Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said the dismissed mayor may still be in Indonesia along with his brother, Wesley.
Sandoval said they have not received any information or updates from their Indonesian counterparts if the two have left after arriving last August 18.
There were speculations that Guo may sneak into the Golden Triangle in mainland Asia to evade arrest because her family has business interests in the area.
“Doon po sa ating coordination with our Indonesian counterparts wala pa pong attempt si mayor Alice Guo na magtawid ng border mula pa noong huli niya pasok noong August 18 (In our coordination with our Indonesian counterparts, there was no attempt from Mayor Alice Gup to cross the border since she arrived last August 18),” Sandoval said.
“Nakamonitor po tayo at kausap natin ang ating mga counterparts as well as intelligence groups diyan sa Indonesia para matunton at mabantayan itong mga pag-galaw ng dating mayor Alice Guo para pag ibinalik po siya ng Indonesian authorities dito ay haharapin niya ang mga patong-patong na kaso laban sa kanya (We are monitoring and in touch with our counterparts as well as intelligence groups in Indonesia to track the movements of former mayor Alice Guo so that once Indonesian authorities have her in custody and returned to the country, she will face multitude of cases),” Sandoval added.
ARBITRARY DETENTION
Ong’s legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, said they will file an arbitrary detention case against the Justice Department.
“Definitely, kasi ang DOJ naman ang nasa ibabaw ng NBI (Because the NBI is under the DOJ),” Topacio said.
He added the NBI has no basis to detain Ong since there was no arrest warrant issued by the court against her.
Topacio said the only arrest order against her client was the one issued by the House for contempt after she repeatedly failed to attend its inquiry on the operation of illegal POGOs.
“Walang warrant so walang kaso tapos ide-detain mo sa NBI (There was no warrant, no case and then you detain her at the NBI),” Topacio said, adding the right course of action would have been for Ong to be turned over to the House immediately after she and Shiela were brought back to the country from Indonesia.
He said what happened was clearly a case of arbitrary detention since a public officer — in this case, the NBI — detained Ong without legal cause.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla previously said the NBI took custody of the two for “debriefing” and to elicit information on the whereabouts of the dismissed Bamban mayor and how they escaped from the country.
Santiago dismissed Topacio’s remarks, saying: “They can do that, they can file, pero walang (but there was no) arbitrary detention. Nagra-run lang yang arbitrary detention pag may office hours eh holiday tayo since Friday, so, no arbitrary detention to speak of.
Sinusunod namin ang proseso dito (We are following due process here).”
He said the NBI is ready to face any case that would be filed against them.
Santiago also dismissed claims that he was pressured by higher-ups to take custody of Ong.
“Walang pulitika dito, walang ganun. Sinusunod naming ang proseso dito (There’s no politics here. We followed due process),” he added.
Senate President Francis Escudero said Shiela will be detained at the Senate for as long as the Committee on Women deems it necessary that she stays there.
“She will be released once the committee recommends her release after she relieves herself of the contemptuous act versus the committee and after I sign the release order,” Escudero said.
According to the NBI’s “turn-over of a living person” report, Shiela, also known as Zhang Mier, has two dates of birth on record: Zhang Mier was born on March 3, 1985 while Shiela Guo was born on January 12, 1984.
Shiela also has Chinese and Philippine passports.
Shiela and Ong, an incorporator of Lucky South 99 Corporation which operated the POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga were arrested in a mall in Indonesia last August 20 and were immediately sent back to the Philippines.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is confident Alice Guo will be arrested in Indonesia where she is believed hiding.
He said ASEAN ambassadors have informed him that their respective law enforcement agencies are on alert for Alice Guo.
“I believe that the different branches of Indonesia’s law enforcement agencies are already on alert that’s why she (Alice) will have a hard time moving around Southeast Asia. I have also earlier talked with ASEAN ambassadors who said that their respective law enforcement agencies are on alert,” Gatchalian said.
INQUIRY
The sub-committee on justice and human rights will start with its inquiry on the escape of the Guo siblings and Ong.
Aside from Shiela Guo, the sub-committee said the invited resource persons include Ong, lawyer Stephen David (legal counsel of Alice Guo), lawyer Elmer Galicia (the notary public who said Alice Guo personally executed a sworn counter-affidavit before him last August 14), and ranking government officials, including those from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Maritime Industry Authority, and PNP, among others.
The public hearing is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Gatchalian said he expects Guo to be arrested in Indonesia where her movement is limited.
He added that it is possible that Guo might try to slip into the Golden Triangle in Laos, Thailand and Myanmar but expressed confidence she would be arrested in Indonesia.
Gatchalian, who is among the senators investigating POGO activities in the country, said it’s the “end of the road” for Sheila and Ong, adding they should cooperate with authorities and help the government in filing a strong case against those who should be held accountable for the illegal activities of the POGO hubs in Porac and Bamban.
He said they should be forthcoming on how the POGO hubs were established, how they got involved in illegal activities, and how the Guos slipped out of the country.
He believes the Guos may be involved with some syndicates assisting them.
Asked if Sheila Guo and Ong would cooperate but would want to be placed under witness protection, Gatchalian said they would still look into it. — With Wendell Vigilia and Jocelyn Montemayor
