Activities with Lucky South 99
Ong is an incorporator of the real estate firm Whirlwind Corp., of which she owned 58% of its shares. [8] The firm leased a 10-hectare (25-acre) land within the Grand Palazzo Royale in Porac, Pampanga to the POGO company Lucky South 99 Outsourcing, Inc. (formerly called Xinsheng IT Start-Up). [15] [16] Ong sent a letter of no objection (LONO) to the municipal hall of Porac to permit the operation of Lucky South 99, which was approved in November 2019. [16] A license to operate was granted to Lucky South 99 by PAGCOR in 2020, which was valid until October 2023. [17]
Whirlwind hired former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque as a lawyer, [15] with Roque accompanying Ong in visiting PAGCOR on July 26, 2023, to assist in settling Lucky South 99's arrears to PAGCOR. [18] [19] He also acted on the sole behalf of Ong in his multiple calls to a PAGCOR executive to inquire about the remaining necessary documents to be filed for Lucky South 99. [18] According to Roque, Ong became Whirlwind's Corporate Secretary in September 2023, and in the same month had him accompany her in reapplying Lucky South 99 for an Internet Gaming License (IGL) from PAGCOR. [19] By May 22, 2024, PAGCOR sent a letter to Ong denying the IGL application due to alleged illegal activities that occurred in the establishment in 2022. [20]
In early June 2024, police authorities from various organizations arrived at Lucky South 99 to rescue the remaining victims within the compound despite a limited search warrant. [21]
Ong is listed as the owner of a lavish mansion in a 2.2-hectare (5.4-acre) compound in Porac, which was raided by police on July 6, 2024. [22] [23] [1]
Post-Lucky South 99 closure
On August 1, 2024, PAGCOR chairman Alejandro Tengco revealed that Ong had fled to Singapore, according to information received by police authorities. [24]
On August 9, 2024, three people separately filed charges against 13 officers of Lucky South 99, including Ong, for identity theft and falsification of documents due to the inclusion of the petitioners' names in corporate documents without their knowledge. On August 16, four committees of the House of Representatives (i.e., Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts) together issued a contempt order against Ong for failing to attend their legislative inquiries. [25] She was cited in contempt once again by the committee on September 20 for "lying" and ordered detained at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong for 30 days beginning on September 26. [26]
By August 20, Ong was captured alongside Shiela Guo at Mega Mall Batam Center in Batam, Indonesia by local authorities, and subsequently placed in the custody of the Directorate General of Immigration. [27] [28] Two days later, they were brought back to the Philippines to be placed in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). [29]
On August 30, the Anti–Money Laundering Council, Presidential Anti–Organized Crime Commission, and the National Bureau of Investigation filed a money laundering case against Ong, Alice Guo, and 32 others before the Department of Justice (DOJ). [30]
On September 10, Ong and 51 others were charged with qualified human trafficking at the DOJ for their alleged involvement in the Lucky South 99 POGO operations. [31] On September 26, Ong was moved at the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong. [32]
On October 29, Harry Roque was included as co-respondent by the PAOCC and the PNP-CIDG in the non-bailable qualified Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 case. [33]
In May 2025, the Pampanga Regional Trial Court Branch 118 issued warrants of arrest against Ong and others for qualified human trafficking. In June 2025, a petition by Ong against the indictment was dismissed by the Court of Appeals. [32]
However as per reports in November 2025, Ong was released from the CIW sometime during the transition from the 19th to 20th Congress in mid-2025. [32]
Ong's whereabouts is undetermined. The PAOCC said it last tracked Ong to have flew to Japan in January 2025. [34] On December 2, the Philippine government claims Ong remains in the Philippines, [35] but Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla claims Ong has fled to Fujian, China. [36] [37]
