News Roundup 22 August 2024
Aug 22, 2024 • 5 min Read
Cassandra Ong, Sheila Guo back in the Philippines; Senate to serve arrest warrant to Alice | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Shiela Leal Guo, sister of dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) incorporator Cassandra Li Ong have arrived back in the Philippines, according to Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) spokesperson Winston Casio on Thursday.
Guo and Ong were apprehended by Indonesian authorities in Riau. The dismissed Bamban mayor, who was initially with them, managed to escape.
When asked if Ong and Guo are back in the Philippines, Casio confirmed, “yes.”
Shiela Leal Guo has an outstanding arrest order from the Senate due to her failure to attend multiple Senate hearings related to POGOs.
Senate President Francis Escudero said that the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, Roberto Ancan Jr., is coordinating with the Manila International Airport Authority to serve the Senate’s arrest order for Guo.
As for Ong, Escudero mentioned that his office is working with Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ staff on a contempt citation. The House has a warrant of arrest prepared for Ong.
Ong has been repeatedly mentioned in Congressional hearings as one of the incorporators of Lucky South 99 but has never appeared. She was also identified as the link between former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Lucky South 99, after the latter was named as a legal officer for the POGO hub.
Authorities have been pursuing Alice Guo and her associates for several weeks, raising suspicions that Philippine public officials may have conspired to facilitate their escape. Hontiveros and other leaders believe this possibility is highly likely.
Rodrigo Duterte ordered 2016 killings of alleged Chinese drug lords — witnesses | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte allegedly ordered the killings of three Chinese nationals who were stabbed to death inside the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in 2016, according to the testimonies of inmates who appeared before the House quad-committee (quadcom) on Thursday.
During the quadcom’s second public hearing, Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando “Andy” Magdadaro, two former inmates at the facility, implicated the former president in their explosive testimonies about how they carried out the fatal stabbing of the three Chinese nationals just months after the administration’s drug war was launched.
What went down. Tan and Magdadaro detailed how, in July 2016, they were promised their freedom in exchange for killing three prisoners they called “drug lords.” These were Chu Kin Tung, alias Tony Lim; Li Lan Yan, alias Jackson Li; and Wong Meng Pin, alias Wang Ming Ping, all three of whom were housed inside the compound’s maximum security facility.
According to Tan’s sworn statement, his high school classmate, SPO4 Arthur Narsolis, facilitated the deal, assuring him of a presidential intervention that would lead to their release.
“Sinabi niya, ‘May ipapatrabaho ako sa iyo at may basbas sa taas. Baka matulungan ka rin namin na
makalaya, kakausapin namin ang presidente,'” Tan said.
(He said, ‘I have a job for you, and it has approval from the top. We might be able to help you get released; we’ll talk to the president.)
Tan testified that Narsolis referred to the job as having a reward of “isang manok kada ulo (one chicken per head),” with “manok” or chicken implying a payment of P1 million per person killed.
Magdadaro also detailed his involvement, saying he was roped into the plan by Tan, who offered the same promise of financial compensation and eventual freedom.
Full Story at: Rodrigo Duterte ordered 2016 killings of alleged Chinese drug lords — witnesses | Philstar.com
Harry Roque cited for contempt after lying about absence in House probe | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was cited for contempt for lying before the House of Representatives quad-committee regarding the reason for his absence at the first hearing.
During the quad-committee hearing on Thursday, Kabayan party-list Rep. Ron Salo showed a certification from Manila Regional Trial Court Clerk of Court Atty. Jennifer dela Cruz-Buendia which stated that Roque, a lawyer, did not have a court hearing last Aug. 16.
The quad-committee held its first hearing on Aug. 16 in Bacolor, Pampanga, but Roque asked that he be excused from attending the discussions due to a hearing in a Manila court.
“Atty. Harry Roque sent a letter dated Aug. 13, 2024 addressed to the honorable chairman Robert Ace Barbers…informing Chair Barbers that he will not be able to participate to the said meeting due to a conflict with a previously scheduled court hearing before the Regional Trial Court on 16 August 2024 — the same date of our quad-committee hearing,” Salo said.
“Mr. Chair, we are also in receipt here of a copy of a certification…stating that Atty. Harry Roque has no hearing on August 16, and did not appear in the Court of Manila. Mr. Chair, I hate to say it but clearly Atty. Harry Roque, our former secretary and my former law professor lied to this committee, and that amounts to disrespect to the members of the committee, which is contemptable,” he added.
Full Story at: Roque cited for contempt after lying about absence in House probe (inquirer.net)
‘No,’ I won’t be VP: Escudero tells why he won’t gain from Duterte’s ouster | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s ouster will not make him her successor, Senate President Francis “Chiz” clarified on Thursday.
Escudero said this when asked in a radio interview if he would assume Duterte’s post should an alleged impeachment bid against her succeed.
“Hindi (No),” the Senate chief answered when asked over Radyo 630.
“Sang-ayon sa Saligang Batas, kung may mangyari, magbibitiw o kung ano man ang mangyari sa ikalawang pangulo tulad ng kasaysayan natin, yung ikalawang pangulo, si GMA, umakyat bilang pangulo kaya nabakante yung vice president,” Escudero recalled.
(According to the Constitution, if something happens to the vice president, as in our history, Vice President GMA, ascended to the presidency. That’s why the position of vice president became vacant.)
He was referring to former President and now Pampanga Second District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who ascended to the presidency when then President Joseph Estrada was ousted during the second Edsa revolution in 2001.
Arroyo picked then-Senator Teofisto Guingona as her vice president under the law, according to Escudero.
Full Story at: Escudero tells why he won’t gain from VP Duterte’s ouster (inquirer.net)
