Cassandra Li Ong denies being friends or business partners with the dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
Ong told the House of Representatives quad-committee that she was not close to Alice but knew her only because of her boyfriend, Wesley Guo, who is a brother to the dismissed mayor.
However, Ong admitted that she was in Singapore with Wesley, Alice, and the dismissed mayor’s sister, Shiela Guo.
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. asked Ong before the quad-committee: “Sino ang kasama niyo sa Singapore?”
“Si Wesley Guo, Alice Guo, and Shiela Guo,” Ong answered.
When she was asked how she knew the Guos, Ong replied: “Boyfriend ko po si Wesley Guo.”
Abante asked questions that could link Ong to Alice, but the former denied that they were simply acquaintances but were not close. “Kakilala syempre, sister po siya ng boyfriend [ko],” Ong said.
“At business partner mo si Alice Guo?” Abante asked. “No,” Ong replied.
Ong also denied having a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub. “Yung business po namin is nagre-rent lang para, building, real estate lang po. I’m not related to any POGO,” she said.
Ong reportedly owns a 58 percent stake in Whirlwind Corporation, which had leased land in Porac, Pampanga to Lucky South 99, a company running a POGO hub. During the hearing, it emerged that Whirlwind and Lucky South 99 are closely connected, with Ong admitting to 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez that she is employed by both companies.