THE Court of Appeals (CA) has rejected Cassandra Li Ong’s petition to overturn her indictment for qualified human trafficking related to the defunct Lucky South 99 POGO hub.
The CA’s 13th Division, in a seven-page resolution authored by Associate Justice Pablito Perez, dismissed Ong’s claim that appealing the Department of Justice (DOJ) decision would be pointless.
The court deemed Ong’s assertion speculative and ruled that her direct appeal to the CA was premature and unjustified. This decision upholds the April 7th DOJ resolution indicting Ong, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, and more than 40 others.
The CA’s June 25th resolution, written by Associate Justice Pablito Perez, clearly stated that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case due to Ong’s bypassing of the established appeals process within the DOJ.
This decision reinforces the legal principle of exhausting all available remedies before seeking higher court intervention.
The case, linked to the illegal activities of the now-closed Lucky South 99 POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, continues to move forward with Ong facing charges of qualified human trafficking.
