PH gov’t embroiled in ownership war over Porac POGO
PAMPANGA, Philippines – The Philippine government is trying to forfeit the 10-hectare alleged scam farm in Porac, Pampanga, but is currently embroiled in an ownership dispute with the original Kapampangan owners of the property.
Officials from different government agencies visited the compound on Monday, April 7, to prepare to answer a show cause order issued against them by a local court in Porac.
“This is in connection to a show cause order issued by the municipal trial court of Porac, Pampanga, after a complaint was filed by the Cruz family,” Prosecutor Sonny Ocampo of the Department of Justice (DOJ) told Rappler at the site on Monday.
The padlocked compound had been left in its raided state, shattered glass are still on the floor and food are decaying on the work tables. Government agents have secured it although a tarpaulin by the claimants indicate that there is a heated legal battle over ownership.
Officials could not yet give a valuation of the property, but in comparison, the smaller Bamban compound in Tarlac had been valued at P7 billion, although Ocampo said the buildings and structures in Alice Guo’s Baofu compound appear more expensive.
Heirs of local businessman Ruperto Cruz, the original owner of the compound, moved to hold the government in contempt for asserting that it has the right to keep custody of the alleged scam farm compound, which they call part of criminal evidence.
Cruz owns the sprawling Thai Royal Court compound, but sold part of it to Whirlwind Corporation, the real estate company owned by the Chinese boss Duanren Wu, the godfather of Katherine Cassandra Ong, who was never found by authorities since the raid in June 2024. It was Whirlwind which leased the property to Lucky South 99 POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator), a corporate layering design found in most alleged scam farms including the one in Bamban, Tarlac.
The Cruz family had wanted to eject Whirlwind from their property even before the raid. Whirlwind’s lawyer for the ejectment case was Harry Roque.
In August 2024, the heirs secured a writ of execution on the property, which would have had the effect of physical turnover of the lots to them.
“At the time that the sheriff will be serving the writ of execution, we did not allow it, because this property is under the possession and control, in custody of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG),” said Ocampo.
The standoff resulted in the current show cause order. Ocampo said that they have yet to initiate the formal proceedings for forfeiture. The DOJ has not yet resolved the criminal human trafficking complaints against Wu, Ong, Roque and other Whirlwind and Lucky South 99 officials.
Ong has been released from congressional detention, and Roque is now seeking asylum in The Hague. – Rappler.com