THE REAL VALUE OF TIANGCO'S TESTIMONY!

The testimony by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco on the supposed haste with which the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona was prepared and passed by the House of Representatives is MORE VALUABLE as the case itself.

Despite pronouncements by House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II that Tiangco’s testimony was already moot and academic, since the Senate Impeachment Court had already upheld the validity of the complaint.

Tiangco’s testimony revealed the HYPOCRISY and DICTATORIAL disregard of Malacanang and House leaders of procedures to ensure that they GET WHAT THEY WANT, at all costs.

This hypocrisy and dictatorial tendency will certainly NOT BE LIMITED to the Corona impeachment for the rest of Pnoy’s term. And if it can be used on a person as powerful as Corona, it can definitely be used on lesser mortals like us!

Tiangco testified that no less than Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. had told House members in a caucus last December that Corona “is a protégé of GMA (former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo)” and would be impeached on that day.

This BELIES Malacanang’s consistent claim that Corona’s impeachment was purely for reforms in the judiciary.

As expected, Belmonte has denied Tiangco’s statement.

But take note, people, Belmonte is the FOURTH MOST POWERFUL man in the country and Tiangco had made the revelation IN PUBLIC AND UNDER OATH.

I can’t think of any other reason why Tiangco would still dare put Belmonte on the spot apart from the TRUTH.

Tiangco testified that he was not shown the impeachment complaint before he was asked to sign it. He said Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon also complained that congressmen were being asked to sign even if they had not read it yet.

I remember the prosecution claiming early in the trial that the 188 congressmen who had signed the impeachment complaint had read and understood its contents.

And to further prove that he’s telling the truth, Tiangco challenged any congressman who thinks he is lying to voluntarily testify ”so we can find out who is not telling the truth.”

Until I finished writing this piece, NOT ONE among the 188 signatories to the complaint has accepted Tiangco’s challenge.

So unless anybody belies Tiangco’s testimony with solid proof, the Navotas congressman succeeded in ENLIGHTENING us on what kind of leaders and the DANGERS we face from them.

Not just from the ongoing impeachment trial, but for the remaining four years and three months of the Aquino Administration.

God have mercy on our country! 30