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MANILA, Philippines ? The House of Representatives will leave it up to the courts to decide on the fate of one of its members, Ilocos Sur Representative Ronald Singson, who is currently detained in Hong Kong after he was arrested for illegal possession of drugs, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said Wednesday.
Belmonte said the House could not act yet on the case as it was not getting official information from the congressman and because the chamber was still in the process of reorganizing its committees.
?We are here ready to talk to any member of his family, but so far nobody has done that. Meantime, we say that let us give Congressman Singson the benefit of the doubt under our laws, he?s still presumed innocent over here in our own [country], among us in Congress, we await official word,? Belmonte told reporters in an interview.
He added that the House was still reorganizing the committees, including the committee on ethics that would have jurisdiction on Singson?s case.
?That is the situation where we are, we will study the case. I have consulted a couple of lawyers but we are waiting and we say let us give all the chances to our colleague to prove his case in Hong Kong,? he added.
The Speaker said there was no need to have a caretaker in Singson?s district, saying his staff can handle the day-to-day operations.
Reports quoting court records from Hong Kong showed that Singson, 41, was arrested at the Chek Lap Kok International Airport for possession of 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of a sedative on July 11. The records also showed that the court rejected Ronald?s application for bail and has since been detained.
Singson has hired a legal team to represent him in his case.
