SINGSON RESIGNS AS ILOCOS SUR CONGRESSMAN
MANILA, MARCH 2, 2011 (TRIBUNE) By Gerry Baldo - Rep. Ronald Singson (photo), yesterday resigned as a member of the 15th Congress repre-senting the first district of Ilocos Sur resulting from his conviction by a Hong Kong court for drug trafficking and personal use of prohibited drugs after being caught by Customs police having the drugs in his person.
Singson's e-mailed resig-nation letter was submitted to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte by his father Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson yesterday.
"I am tendering my resignation as a Congressman for the sake of my countryman, the Filipino people, especially my constituents in the first district of Ilocos Sur, who look up to the members of Congress with respect bordering on adulation, and with the undying hope for truly honorable legislators as exemplars of highest standards of behavior," Singson said in his one-page letter to Belmonte.
"I am resigning, Your Honor, not because I am succumbing to the pressure of the noisy few among my honorable colleagues; rather, my resignation is a fulfilment of my promise to my father who had all the right to make the first and loudest protest because it was his name and honor that was mercilessly dragged into the tempest of my own undoing," he said.
Singson has been convicted of drug trafficking by a Hong Kong court following his arrest upon arrival from Manila in July last year. He was found guilty for carrying 6.7 grams of cocaine and two other regulated tablets.
"In keeping with the time-honored tradition of this august Congress to be ever vigilant that all who walk in its corridors or sit in its various sessions must come with clean hands, clean minds and clean hearts, I have come to the painful decision to tender my resignation as a member of the 15th Congress,"he wrote.
Singson described his arrest for possession of drugs as an 'unfortunate episode" in his life, saying that it was a "product of misjudgement and naivete on my part."
While some members of the House were vocal about Singson's expulsion as a member of Congress, Camarines Sur Rep. Elmer Panotes sided with Singson. Panotes, in a privilege speech last week, said that Congress should give Singson a second chance.
This developed as House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales 2 nd district of Mandaluyong said that Singson cannot face the same charges in the Philippines because of the principle of territoriality.
"Under general rules of the Criminal Law, courts can only acquire jurisdiction on crimes committed within our territory. If the crime is committed outside of our country, it (filing charges against him) can't be done," Gonzales said in a chance interview.
Speaker Belmonte, earlier said he would freeze Singson's salary and annual P70 million Priority Development Assistance Fund.
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