Iligan City lone district representative Frederick Siao joins other members of Congress. (File photo)
ILIGAN CITY — Iligan City Representative Frederick Siao on Saturday said he will continue to do his duty despite the preventive suspension issued against him on Friday by the Sandiganbayan.
In his statement sent to the media on Saturday, Siao said there is no necessity for his preventive suspension because the Sandiganbayan has no basis.
He said the purpose of the preventive suspension order is now moot and academic because the prosecution has already presented its evidence and rested its case.
"There is no need for any sort of preventive suspension because I am not in any position to cause any tampering or loss of evidence nor pressuring of any personnel of the city council or city hall, because I am not an incumbent member of the city council of Iligan," he said.
The graft complaint against him stemmed from his approval, as a city councilor, of a city council resolution giving authority to former Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz to renew the contract of leasing of land, owned by Cruz's relative, to be used by the city government as bus and jeepney terminal.
The contract to lease the area in Sitio Camague in Barangay Tomas Cabili, which was first entered into in 2004, supposedly did not go through a bidding process.
Siao was first elected as member of the city council in 2006.
The first approval to renew the contract, where Siao voted 'yes', was in December 2008 and the second renewal was in March 2014.
The lawmaker was reelected for his second term as city councilor in 2013.
In 2016, he was elected as congressman and in the last May 13 elections, he was reelected for his second term as Member of the House of Representatives and will serve in the 18th Congress until 2022.
According to the rules of the House of Representatives, the authority to suspend any member rests with the entire body and must gain two-thirds vote to be approved.
"According to the House Rules, the House cannot suspend any of its Members for more than 60 days, in contrast to the 90 days suspension the Sandiganbayan has ordered. It is the House of Representatives that has jurisdiction over me and this matter would most likely be taken up by the House committee on rules," Siao said in the statement.
"I did not reap any financial gain from the alleged illegal lease of land contract for southbound bus terminal in Camague, referred to in three separate city council resolutions. Rather, the City of Iligan and its people have benefitted from it," he added. "Until such time, I shall continue to discharge my duties and responsibilities as duly-elected Representative of Iligan City in the House of Representatives. (PNA)
