Singson sentenced to 18 months in prison by Hong Kong Court
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/24/2011 5:24 PM
Hong Kong – A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson to one year and six months in prison for illegal drug possession. Singson had earlier pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. District Court Judge Joseph Yau described the prison term as a serious fall from grace for Singson, a politician and music promoter, who was caught with drugs at Hong Kong’s international airport last year. Earlier this year, the colourful 42-year-old Singson admitted to bringing 6.67 grams of pure cocaine and two tablets of the narcotic Nitrazepam into the city on July 11, 2010. A vial of cocaine was found in his underwear.
Singson sentenced to 1 year, 6 months in HK prison
Carina Roncesvalles | The Philippine Star | February 25, 2011 12:00 AM
HONG KONG – Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson was sentenced yesterday to 18 months imprisonment for trafficking in 6.67 grams of cocaine. Wan Chai District Court Judge Joseph Yau reduced the sentence from the previous prison time of two years and six months after the lawmaker pleaded guilty and also in consideration of his good personal background and the sanctions he might receive from the House of Representatives. Yau accepted Singson’s defense that the illegal drugs seized from him last July 11 were for his personal consumption and not for commercial trafficking but refused to lower the charge to drug possession because of the quantity. Aside from the cocaine, two tablets of the narcotic nitrazepam were found on Singson. Yau pointed out that he could have shared the drugs with his companion Benjamin Liobing. The lawmaker was teary-eyed as the judge explained his sentence. He occasionally bowed his head and looked at his family in the court gallery.
House ethics body begins hearings on Singson case
By Paolo Romero | The Philippine Star | February 03, 2011 8AM
The House ethics committee will finally start hearings on calls to expel Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in Hong Kong on Monday, lawmakers said yesterday. The panel, chaired by Bohol Rep. Erico Aumentado, approved the following day a resolution assuming jurisdiction over Singson’s case and to conduct motu proprio an inquiry on his status as a lawmaker amid mounting calls from his colleagues for him to resign. The resolution was approved upon the motion of Deputy Speaker and Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza during a meeting of the committee on Tuesday.
House ethics panel to investigate Singson
Paolo Romero | The Philippine Star | January 02, 2011 12:00 AM
The House of Representatives ethics committee is set to conduct its own investigation into the case of Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson, who is on trial in Hong Kong on drug charges, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday. “The case will definitely go to the ethics committee under (Bohol) Rep. (Erico) Aumentado,” Belmonte said in a text message.
Immigration authorities in Hong Kong arrested the lawmaker last July 11 for possession of 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of Valium. Further investigation, however, showed that he was only carrying 6.67 grams of cocaine. This allowed him temporary liberty in August after posting a HK$1-million bail.
Singson to plead guilty?!?
Carina Roncesvalles | The Philippine Star | January 01, 2011 12:00 AM
Hong Kong – Ilocos Sur Rep. Ronald Singson is prepared to enter a guilty plea on the drug charges filed against him, and will argue that the illegal substance found in his possession was intended not for sale but only for his own use.
Singson’s lawyer John Reading told the Wan Chai District Court that they would present three witnesses to support their argument.
“It’s not a simple drug trafficking case. Even if it’s a drug trafficking charge, we will argue that the drugs found were for his own use. This is a strong mitigating factor,” Reading said.
The court in Hongkong that handles the case of Rep. Ronald Singson, son of Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson, for alleged drug-trafficking has allowed the young congressman to bail amounting HK$ 1M for his temporary freedom. Ronald Singson was arrested on his arrival at Hong Kong’s international airport on July 11 after customs police said they found a vial of cocaine weighing about 26 grams (0.9 ounces) in his hand luggage.
The court ordered Singson to surrender his passport and promised to appear in court on September 7, local radio RTHK said.
Singson, 41, juggles two jobs promoting US rhythm and blues acts to perform in the southeast Asian country while holding a parliamentary seat.He won a second three-year term in the House of Representatives in May, in the seat long held by his family in the northern province of Ilocos Sur.
The legislator is one of seven children by an estranged wife of Ilocos Sur governor and political kingpin Luis “Chavit” Singson, one of the most colourful and controversial political figures in the Philippines.
In an interview, Governor Chavit Singson believed that his son is not a drug dealer nor drug user. “It’s a plain setup” the governor said with confidence. The Singsons are very popular and powerful figures with decades of political claw in Ilocos region. The governor’s statement sounds like he is saying that their political rivals has a hand in this latest predicament involving the young Singson whose girlfriend is young star Lovi Poe, daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr., a movie action star turned politician and a losing presidential candidate in 2004.
Rep. Ronald Singsong’s Drug Advocacy is just a ‘Show’
Latest News on Rep. Ronald Singson’s Drug Trafficking Case in Hongkong as of August 4, 2010 Wednesday 12:PM Asia Pacific Timezone
Drug trafficking and pushing is just one of the advocacies of now jailed in Hongkong Rep. Ronald Singson, son of popular Ilocos Governor Chavit Singson. But Rep. Singson drug advocacy is turning out to be his cover-up that he is one prime suspect who must be behind bars which he is right now following his alleged drug trafficking involvement in Hongkong weeks ago.
It was noted that Rep. Ronald Singson was one of the three congressmen absent during the first SONA of President Noynoy Aquino on July 26, 2010 joint session of congress. Without the SONA, I guess his humiliating act seen in the international community has not been exposed up to today.
Asked what his father can do to help him of his predicaments, Governo Chavit Singson simply said “I can’t help him with his situation right now.” Gov. Singson’s statement was seconded by no less officials from the Office of Foreign Affairs citing Hongkong’s strick policy about drug trafficking cases.
Rep. Ronald Singson will be subject to arraignment and trials and will face the consequences if found quilty of the drug trafficking case filed against him. The Philippine government will just have to wait the outcome of the trial which will take months if not years. Rep. Ronald Singson therefore will be in jail for that period. If guilty, Rep. Singson will be sentenced for not less than five years of imprisonment based on the volume of shabu found in his belongings by police and immigration authorities in Hongkong.
We are not to condemn Rep. Ronald Singson as a person but his actions has angered common Filipinos simply because his case is not a propaganda to discredit him as a lawmaker as it happened in Hongkong which afterwards confirmed by a CCTV camera in the immigration area exposing the modus operandi on how drug traffickers can get out of the country untouched.
Reaction of young Singsong’s rumored girlfriend Lovie Poe
Lovie Poe has been a rumored girlfriend of the young Singson. Pinoy paparazzi had seen Lovie and Ronald together in many occasions very sweet. If I may say so, they might deny the truth but their actions speak louder than voice.
A talent of GMA7 and daughter of the late local movie action king Fernando Poe Jr., Lovie Poe kept silent in saying anything related to Rep. Ronald Singson’s case citing privacy rights. But her gloomy eyes is undoubtedly telling us that something really is bothering her. Nonetheless, she is professional enough to go on with her daily activities as a TV and movie artist which a good sign of her being a responsible individual.
House of Representatives on Rep. Ronald Singson’s Case
In the House of Representatives, some congressmen are pushing for an investigation of the Ronald Singson case. Some are getting ready to move for the Ilocos Sur representative’s expulsion—if he is convicted by the Hong Kong Court, which could sentence him to between five years and eight years in prison.
If Rep. Ronald Singson is convicted by the magistrate of the court in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, whom he will face on August 19, he could appeal the sentence to Hong Kong’s High Court. If the High Court affirms the conviction, he could still go the Court of Final Appeal. Those who are eager to see him expelled from the House of Representatives would have to wait.
kahiya naman sa ama ni lovi poe na pinapatulan nya ang tulad ni singson na tao… salot sa bayan..
sana ma kuong ang mga letseng singson na yan- salot sa bayan!