Belmonte assures Singson of 'due process' in ethics probe

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Wednesday assured Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson of "due process" in the investigation set to be held by the House committee on ethics in relation to his involvement in a drug case in Hong Kong. "As far as I am concerned, what we promise is that we will have due process here, we will see this through, but I am not to say anything that in one way or the other influences the thing that is happening in Hong Kong. Let them do whatever they are doing," Belmonte told reporters. He added that he has already asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to provide the House leadership with official court documents from Hong Kong, which will be the basis of the investigation. "I am not asking him to resign. All that I’m asking is that due process be followed. I don’t think the people will be disappointed," he said. On Tuesday, the House committee on ethics and privileges unanimously approved a resolution paving the way for an investigation on Singson even without a formal ethics complaint filed against him. The House panel’s move came a day after Singson pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges before the Hong Kong District Court. Ronald, the son of Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, said he went on a cocaine-and-gambling binge after attending an Usher concert in Manila he helped stage on July 9, frustrated by an argument with his girlfriend, actress Lovi Poe. He then decided to join a friend attending a poker tournament in Macau and was arrested while transiting through Hong Kong. A two-thirds vote of the lower chamber’s 283 members is required to either suspend or expel Singson from his post. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV