Interpol red notice out on Ong, also sought vs Roque
The government has sought the help of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to track down two individuals accused of crimes related to the scam hub of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) in Pampanga.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio disclosed on Sunday that the government has requested a red notice from Interpol against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Meanwhile, Police Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., acting chief of the Philippine National Police, said a red notice has already been issued against Cassandra “Cassie” Li Ong, who is charged with qualified trafficking in connection with the alleged scam hub operated by Lucky South 99 in Pampanga.
According to Interpol, a red notice is a “request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,…based on an arrest warrant or court order issued by the judicial authorities in the requesting country.”
‘Political persecution’
Roque also faces charges of qualified human trafficking in relation to the Pampanga scam hub.
He was accused of wrongdoing in his capacity as legal counsel for Whirlwind Corp., the same company that leased land to the illegal Pogo.
Since being charged, Roque has attempted to seek asylum from different countries on the grounds of “political persecution.” But the Department of Justice had earlier claimed that the Netherlands had denied his request.
In an interview with dzBB, Casio said, “The Philippine government has already submitted a request for a red notice, an international arrest warrant, for Mr. Roque.”
“It’s a bit difficult because he is projecting that he is allegedly a victim of political persecution,” Casio also pointed out.
Still at large
Nartatez meanwhile said the PNP is coordinating with foreign law enforcement agencies to track down Ong, alleged business partner of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
Casio also confirmed a red notice has already been issued against Ong, who was last seen in Japan.
“If I’m not mistaken, her warrant has already been issued in France and our government has received it. Then it will be distributed so there will be a meeting to find Cassandra Li Ong with Ronelyn Baterna,” the PAOCC spokesperson said—referring to the corporate secretary of Lucky South 99 who claimed, during a congressional hearing, that she issued checks of as much as P500,000 to clients of the firm under Ong’s bank account.
Despite an active arrest warrant for qualified human trafficking, Ong had fled to Japan early this year after her release from detention, authorities said.
She was initially detained in the House of Representatives during the congressional probe on Pogos, but was released during the transition into the 20th Congress before a case was filed against her.
Not in contact with lawyers
During a Senate hearing where Ong was revealed to be at large, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed concern that the other accused may use the same “backdoor” that Guo had used earlier when she left the country.
Guo was arrested in Indonesia and returned to the Philippines in September last year. On Nov. 20 she and three others were convicted by the Pasig Regional Trial Court of qualified human trafficking, in connection with alleged criminal activities in another Pogo hub in Bamban.
Ong’s legal counsel said on Sunday they have not been in contact with her “for some time now.”
But lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said their engagement with Ong as her lawyers remains.
“While we have not been in communication with our client for some time now, we are bound by law and the tenets of the legal profession to continue extending to her the best legal services we can render under the circumstances,” Topacio said in a statement. —WITH A REPORT FROM ZACARIAN SARAO
