Detained Singson still a House member

Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson will remain a member of the House of Representatives even though he is now detained in Hong Kong for drug possession charges. "Even if there is a pending case in Hong Kong, it’s not automatic that he is removed from the rolls of the House. He (Singson) maintains to be a member of the House of Representatives," Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III (Quezon province) said in an interview with GMANews.TV. If there is a complaint against a House member, the usual process is that a formal complaint must be filed first before the House committee on ethics before the chamber could act on its members. "There has to be a case filed if ever with the ethics committee so they have to go through the process," Tañada said. He added that the House can do nothing now but to wait and see how the case against Singson will progress. "The House can’t do anything, we have no jurisdiction over what Rep. Singson has done, so it is really up to Rep. Singson and his lawyers to prove that he is innocent of whatever charges the Chinese government may file against him," he said. Tañada said the chamber would have to respect the jurisdiction of the Chinese government with regards to the case of Singson, son of Ilocos Sur Gov Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson. "We cannot interfere with their judicial process," he pointed out. Singson was arrested at the Customs Arrival Hall of Chek Lap Kok International Airport on July 11, where he yielded 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of diazepam, more commonly known as the brand-name Valium. (See: Chavit admits lawmaker-son is in HK jail on drug raps) GMA Network’s Saksi reported late Monday that Singson had already entered a not guilty plea on the charges filed against him.
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