Rep. Singson to be Expelled from Congress?

Hayvey Keh of the Ateneo School of Government wants Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson expelled from Congress.

I agree with him.

When the embattled lawmaker comes home whenever it will be, convicted, IF that would be his fate; as if I read one of his colleagues said that under Philippine laws, that conviction has no merit in the country because it was meted out by a foreign state.

That may be correct but what reception is expected from us in welcoming home a “convicted” drug trafficker? Not an ordinary one but a member of the House of Representatives that after serving his jail term, he goes back to the august chamber and legislate.

Among the cornerstones of the Aquino presidency are propriety and change. It does not matter if one is convicted here or abroad. Conviction tells that one is guilty of something. The return of Mr. Singson to Congress after "conviction" is an affront to the principles of this administration firm with its ethics in instituting change and doing house cleaning and sanitizing. How will other countries look at  our government and  us as a people? Who can stop them in making fun at us and in taking us for granted?

IF convicted, Rep. Singson deserves a second chance. That can only be done if upon arrival, he tenders his resignation as a legislator and hibernate here in Vigan to reinvent himself. -30-

Rep. Singson's Arraignment is Postponed

Our marked calendar on the 7th of September, the day Ilocos Sur lawmaker Ronald Singson scheduled to enter his plea was a frustration. He has to go back to the court in October.

Out on bail but required to report to the police everyday, Singson is under the custody of his friends in Hongkong. It is remembered that the son of Ilocos Sur political kingpin and Governor Chavit Singson was caught in a Hongkong airport with illegal drugs in his possession.

John Redding, his counsel, asked the district court to postpone the hearing because his client was undertaking medical treatment and unable to enter a plea until he receives his medical report.

I am not a physician, a psychologist or a psychiatrist but it is intriguing to know the role of the medications that hinder Singson's capability to enter a plea. Am I accurate to assume that the medication he takes temporarily makes him insane or temporarily irrational? All he has to say after listening the charges against him when asked for his disposition is a simple “Guilty, your Honor” or “Not guilty, your Honor”.

There is no other explanation in the news why his arraignment was postponed till October 19 other than that.

Assuming that the medication he takes affects her mental coherence, why was he was rational when he told the press outside the court that he was under instruction not to comment on his medical condition? He looked macho and sharp.  He even kissed his baby before the crowd.

Questions tickle our mind. After the recent hostage-taking bloodbath, are we assured that justice is given to Rep. Singson? Chinese adrenalin has yet  to totally subsided due to the lapses committed by our police, so-called Manila’s Finest, in handling the hostage crisis that killed eight Hongkong residents.

With due respect to the Chinese jurisprudence, I believe that the case will be settled in accordance with evidence and fair play. As a non-lawyer, I don’t know Mr. Redding’s blueprint in defending his client caught red-handedly with the illegal drugs.  More of less, he has to sweat.

Again, we mark October 19, the day Congressman Singson goes back to court. Hopefully, Singson will receive his medical report in time for that day.

Do we expect Rep. Ronald Singson to be more macho and sharper after receiving his medical report? Whatever the contents of that, positive or negative, I hope we will hear his plea next month.  It's the one he is waiting for. -30-

Chavit: Ronald May Have Been Framed

News says that Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson is free on bail but he cannot leave the former British colony of Hong Kong. He has to report to the police daily until he is clear to fly back home.

The elder Singson, Gov. Chavit, believes that his son may have been framed by political enemies and/or business partners so he was caught with the illegal drugs.

Any reader with a keen sense of analysis cannot figure out how true the claim of Gov. Singson is. How could somebody have put the cocaine and Valium in the pocket of the younger Singson? Of course not inside his luggage for how possible that the unscrupulous is brave enough to secretly put the contraband in the luggage of a politically prominent person? Assuming it's done that way, where and how was it done when Singson is always protected by his security?

If somebody put something in his pants’ pocket, he would have noticed it. If that was indeed true, did the security conscious congressman disregard what was put into his pocket? Did his security staff fail to notice it? Same is true when they were put into his shirt pocket. He should have scrutinized what was placed there.

Assuming that Singson was framed as claimed by Chavit, he was framed inside the airport in Manila and not in Hong Kong.

Can the legal team of Singson convince the Hong Kong court that their client was framed? May I say again that I am not a lawyer but whether he was framed or not, they found the illegal drugs in his possession and that is the crux of the case which all of us are eager to follow up. -30-

Rep. Ronald V. Singson Case: A Lot of Questions

Now we know that Rep. Ronald V. Singson of the first district of Ilocos Sur, charged with possessing 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of diazepam or Valium is locked up in Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institute since July 11 in Hongkong.

Reliable sources say that if Singson pleads guilty and is convicted, he may be sentenced from three to eight years plus fine or three years to life plus fine if pleads innocent but is convicted of the charge.

There are a lot of questions about the case to be asked.

First, why was there a news blackout from the day the younger Singson was collared in the former British colony till three or four days ago? Did the Philippine press intentionally do it?  Were they scared to drop the bombshell?

When the news hit the headlines, the elder Singson was initially in  a state of denial saying that they were in Mongolia.  That may be true but Mongolia is not Hongkong.   As the story develops, it is safe  now  to assume that the governor  was not honest in that statement.

How was the congressman able to pass the security area at the Manila airport with the illegal drugs in his possession? Did the authorities know his cocaine and Valium but they let him go anyway? Or are the airport authorities incompetent? What happened with the K-9 team with their sniffing dogs?

Didn't the Congressman know that what were in his pocket are illegal and that Hongkong is not the Philippines where cover up is possible because of who he is?

Congressman Singson said that he admitted culpability to let his companions proceed in their trip.Why  be dumb in admitting sin when you have nothing to do with it?

The Chinese authorities caught him with the illegal drugs in his possession. If Singson was clean; there was no reason for him to be detained. He cannot claim the evidence to be planted because they were found in his pocket and in his carry on luggage. Whether he admitted responsibility or not what were in his possession are proofs of guilt.

Rep. Singson arrived in Hongkong with an ordinary passport.  That means that he does not enjoy diplomatic immunity.  That could spell out more trouble for him.

Gov. Singson was saying that his son was duped into drugs. How could a solon and alumnus of prestigious schools such as Ateneo and La Salle have the puerile mind suggested by his father?

Apo (Mr.) Chavit has sincerely apologized to the nation and to his constituents in Ilocos Sur for the quagmire his son now immersed into but sounds very firm in letting the wheel of justice roll by not using his influence whatsoever to ease Roland’s predicament. Ordinary folks say that a son is always a son  that a  parent, although mentally ill,  still makes heaven and earth meet just to help his sibling in need. Does the wealthy governor mean that he does not care even if his son rots in jail?  If Apo Chavit helps; how, to what extent and in what form?  Hongkong is China and not the Philippines where Lady Justice can peep in her blindfold  to see the rich, influential and powerful. The Chinese don't care to punish their found-guilty officials by firing squad!

If convicted, who will represent the people of the first district of Ilocos Sur in the Lower House? Will he resign  if convicted and his erstwhile political nemesis Bertrand Ando Baterina takes his House seat or will there be special elections to choose his replacement? Will the lower House expel him? If convicted and released within the 15th Congress, will his colleagues discipline him? If so, how?  Would his conviction a ground for his  impeachment?

Once Rep. Singson served his sentence, do the Filipinos, his constituents in particular,  still trust him? What will he tell to the people  as a gesture of  contrition and how?  If given a chance to run for public office again, will he have the guts to run again?  Will the people vote for him again?

The possibility of a life sentence is great and who can imagine him surviving in prison probably with just noodles, rice buns (siopao), tea and occasional Chinese delicacies when in the country he can afford to  dine in five star hotels daily?  How did he get rich?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Everybody prays that justice will prevail but it is a fact that China has a long history of punishing the guilty regardless of who they are.

In the meantime, the questions are not to be answered but pondered upon.-30-