Rep. Singson pleads guilty in HK drug trafficking case

(Updated 9:05 p.m.) HONG KONG — A Filipino congressman pleaded guilty Monday to trafficking drugs into Hong Kong last year after a post-concert cocaine binge in Manila was followed by a spur-of-the-moment decision to head to the gambling enclave of Macau. Philippine Rep. Ronald Singson was not immediately sentenced in Hong Kong's District Court pending testimony on whether he planned on consuming the cocaine or sharing it with others — a factor that could influence the length of his sentence. He was caught carrying 0.24 ounces (6.67 grams) of cocaine at the southern Chinese city's international airport in July. Drug trafficking carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million ($640,000). In his own testimony, Singson pleaded for leniency, apologizing to the judge and the people of Hong Kong. The 42-year-old legislator said he used cocaine on and off since 2004. He 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. He then decided to join a friend attending a poker tournament in Macau and was arrested while transiting through Hong Kong.
Singson, who is on bail, added he was undergoing rehabilitation for his drug addiction. Singson is the son of Luis "Chavit" Singson, the incumbent governor of Ilocos Sur whose testimony in the corruption trial of his former friend, ex-President Joseph Estrada, helped convict the ousted leader in 2007 and secure a life prison term. Estrada was later pardoned. Colleagues to Rep. Singson: Resign Rep. Singson’s colleagues at the House of Representatives, meanwhile, renewed calls for his resignation after he admitted to his drug case in the Chinese territory. Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said Singson should “spare his colleagues from going through the process of having him expelled from the House" by voluntarily quitting his post. “He [Singson] could save the image of the House by resigning. It would be the honorable thing to do," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV on Monday night. Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello, meanwhile, said Singson should just resign because “the honor of the House it at stake." “I am sad because of what happened. It is my belief that Rep. Singson is an honorable (man). I hope he considers resignation to spare the House of the painful process of sanctioning him," he said in a separate phone interview. Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, for her part, said the House leadership “should act right away so as not to put the House in question." The House of Representaives can only suspend or expel one of its members with a two-thirds vote of all 283 lawmakers. — AP with Andreo Calonzo/KBK, GMANews.TV