During the fourth Quad Committee hearing on September 4, 2024, Cassandra Li Ong, majority shareholder of Whirlwind Corporation, was once again interrogated regarding her involvement with the Porac POGO operations.
It is almost disconcerting how a 24-year-old dropout was able to deceitfully maneuver herself around the unsparing questions of the QuadCom and manipulate Congressmen by feigning innocence and ignorance.
What we are slowly learning from the QuadCom hearings is that we are dealing with a wolf in sheep’s clothing – someone who’s sharp enough to discern when to step back and act oblivious, when to request to talk to her lawyer and perhaps even to only engage with the younger Congressmen she assumes she can more easily manipulate through her “pabebe” antics.
For Cassy, it’s all fun and games until the QuadCom gets fed up on her antics. As exclaimed by an exasperated Cong. Adiong, “masyado kang pa-cute eh!”
The first to interpellate was Cong. Pimentel who, in hopeless resignation, deduced that Cassy is withholding information by deflecting questions regarding her involvement with Lucky South and relationship with Duanren Wu, with empty promises to “double check” information. This abused excuse is how Cassy Ong has since managed to dodge the hard-hitting questions of the QuadCom.
Cong. Barbers next interpellated on how Whirlwind Corporation was able to finance the construction of the 46 buildings in the Porac POGO compound. However, Cong. Barber’s paternal modulations proved unsuccessful in fishing relevant information regarding the source of funds of Cassy and her business partners in Whirlwind Corporation. To these, Cassy merely clapped back: “Edi tanungin niyo sila.”
Inconsistencies in Cassy Ong’s answers were unraveled when Cong. Keith Flores pounded on Cassy Ong with questions on the connection between Whirlwind and Lucky South, where in due course, we learn that Cassy Ong was also previously a major stakeholder of Lucky South. Suddenly, her insistent denial of any involvement with Lucky South now works against her case. It seems Cassy Ong has found herself in a pirouette of her own lies. Cong. Dan Fernandez thus opted against his usual coddling timbre when talking to Cassy Ong and adapted a more stringent stance. He reminded Cassy Ong that the withdrawal of her waiver to the Bank Secrecy Law will not only derail the investigations – it will also cast doubt as to the truthfulness of her previous statements regarding the source of her funds.
It is hard to imagine how a major stakeholder of a corporation, also incorporator, money handler and authorized representative, who hold close relations with its staff, can claim zero knowledge on its operations. There is no denying that Cassy Ong knows more than she lets on. The real question is whose mess did she find herself in (and now struggling to get out of) when she cried: “Ayaw [k]ong magipit sa nag-uumpugang malalaking bato” to Cong. Dan Fernandez.
Now forced between a rock and a hard place, it seems Cassy was left with no choice but to play sick and gain the leniency of the QuadCom. What Cassy must now realize is that her antics are outworn – sympathy and forbearance have long gone for the QuadCom.
