A Facebook (FB) post claims that businesswoman Cassandra Ong, who is linked to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the country, has revealed that her father is cardiologist and social media personality Doc Willie Ong.
Not true. Despite having the same surname, Cassandra has made no such revelation in any of her appearances at the Senate inquiry, media interviews or personal social media posts. Doc Willie has also denied he is related to her.
Uploaded on Oct. 11, the post’s caption read:
“BREAKING NEWS: “Cassandra Ong Reveals DNA Test Results – Dr. Willie Confirmed as Father!”
The post also carried a link to an impostor website where an article headline read: “In a dramatic turn of events, Cassandra Ong has officially announced the results of her long-anticipated DNA test, confirming Dr. Willie as her biological father.”
To support that false claim, the post included an inset photo of an unclear DNA result connecting it to another inset photo of Doc Willie with a little girl, suggesting it to be the businesswoman Ong.
In a Sept. 29 FB post, Doc Willie denied that he is the father of the alleged POGO operator:
“Hindi po tunay na related ako kay Cassandra Ong. Libo-libo ang may apelyidong Ong sa Pilipinas. Fake news po lahat yan.”
(It is not true that I am related to Cassandra Ong. Thousands in the Philippines have the surname Ong… All that is fake news.)
The photo of Doc Willie with a little girl was originally taken from a 2017 FB post and shows a photo of Ong’s eldest daughter, not Cassandra. He has two daughters named Anjelica and Catherine.
Cassandra Ong, authorized representative of Lucky South 99, a raided POGO hub in Pampanga, is currently detained at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong for qualified trafficking charges.
She is also the subject of a House and Senate investigation, where it was revealed that her father is a Chinese national named Richard Ong Chao Hong.
The untrue post emerged a week after Willie Ong filed his certificate of candidacy for senator in the 2025 midterm elections.
Uploaded by FB page Magsasaka Mabuhay Ka (created July 18, 2017) and impostor website morenews247.com, the post has received a total of 2,149 interactions.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
