House To Look Into Request of Cassandra Ong for Companion Inside CIW
Cassandra Ong, through a letter, requested the House to allow her friend to stay with her during detention as she is suffering from “severe depression”.
This year, one of the issues that gained national attention was the issue on the illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming operations in the Philippines. It involved several names including Alice Guo who was dismissed as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac amid the allegations linking her to illegal POGOs.
Alice Guo was arrested in Indonesia after weeks of trying to evade the Philippine authorities amid a pending Senate arrest order. Aside from the accusations that link her to illegal POGOs, her identity is also in question.
The fingerprints of Alice Guo and Guo Hua Ping matched according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Guo Hua Ping is a Chinese national who reportedly entered the country in 2003.
Prior to the arrest of Alice Guo when the Indonesian authorities nabbed her at a rented apartment in Jakarta, Indonesia, Cassandra Ong who was tagged as the alleged cohort of Guo was arrested in Indonesia together with Shiela Guo.
Ong was brought to the House of Representatives while Shiela Guo was detained in the Senate. According to Shiela, Alice is not her biological sister and she only came to the Philippines to work in an embroidery business as per the order of her father. She denied having information about the illegal POGOs.
Cassandra Ong also denied a connection with Alice Guo. According to her, their connection is because of Wesley Guo, Alice’s brother who is allegedly the boyfriend of Cassandra. Wesley has yet to be located abroad.
Alice is currently detained in Pasig City Jail where she shares a cell with six (6) inmates facing drug allegations. As for Cassandra, she is detained at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong.
However, based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Cassandra Ong is currently having a severe mental breakdown and depression. Through a letter, she made a request to the House Quad Committee to allow her friend to stay with her during her detention.
“The basis of this is she is suffering from severe mental breakdown and anxiety attacks, and currently in a state of severe depression,” Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano said as he read the letter.
Based on the report, Cassandra Ong is probably referring to a female friend for the pronoun used in the letter. House Quad Comm overall chairperson and Surigao Del Norte Second District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers assured that they will look into the request of Ong.
“It is proper for us to confer with the CIW personnel with regards to the request of Miss Cassie Ong, considering she is under stress and would need a companion inside,” he said.
According to Barbers, it might be granted if the CIW personnel and the House Quad Committee will agree to her request. Paduano also suggested the granting of Ong’s request rather then having a hearing on it.
Previously, during a House hearing, Cassandra Ong was taken to the hospital.
Let her be, no special treatment. Same as the other PDFs