Hong Kong to free, deport Singson Saturday

Former Ilocos Sur Representative Ronald Singson AFP FILE PHOTO

VIGAN CITY—Former Ilocos Sur Representative Ronald Singson, who is jailed in Hong Kong for drug trafficking, will be released on Saturday and is expected to be deported to the country  the same day, his father, Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, said on Wednesday.

The elder Singson said he and Ronald’s daughter would go to Hong Kong to see him on his release.

Ronald’s brother, Ilocos Sur Representative Ryan Luis Singson, said it was up to Hong Kong authorities where Ronald would land, either at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Metro Manila or at the Laoag International Airport (LIA) in nearby Ilocos Norte.

Representative Singson, the former Vigan vice mayor who won in a special election for his brother’s vacated seat in the House of Representatives, said the Hong Kong government is obligated to shoulder the expenses in deporting Ronald but their family is willing to take that responsibility.

He said a family-owned plane would be on standby either at the NAIA or LIA to fly Ronald to Vigan.

Representative Singson said a thanksgiving Mass and a welcome dinner would be held on his brother’s arrival, where the family’s supporters are expected to attend.

In an earlier interview, Representative Singson said his brother was being released earlier “probably for good behavior.”

Ronald was sentenced on February 24 last year to one year and six months imprisonment by a Hong Kong Court judge.

He was arrested at the Chek Lap Kok International Airport on July 11, 2010, for possessing 6.67 grams of cocaine and two tablets of Valium.

He pleaded guilty, but his lawyer had argued in court that the drugs were for his personal use and were not intended to be sold.

Ronald had just won his second term as Ilocos Sur representative when he was arrested in Hong Kong in 2010. Leoncio Balbin Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon