Lawmaker who testified in Corona trial was once a kidnap victim

The fear of his colleagues’ ire may not have been in Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco’s mind when he served as defense witness in Chief Justice Renato Corona’s impeachment trial on Monday, for he has been through worse.   In 1995, Tiangco was abducted by a kidnap-for-ransom gang, which held him captive for almost three weeks.   “Matagal na iyon,” the lawmaker briefly replied when asked about the incident on Monday.   A feature article from the Manila Bulletin provided more details on the Tiangco’s kidnapping. It said that the lawmaker was freed only after his father paid ransom for him.   “That experience made me stronger… After that experience, fear didn’t mean anything anymore,” the report quoted Tiangco as saying.   Almost 17 years after the incident, the congressman said he is willing to face possible consequences of his testimony against his colleagues on the supposed pressure exerted by the House leadership and Malacañang to impeach Corona last December.   “Kung may sanction man, haharapin ko talaga iyon,” he said in an interview after his testimony before the impeachment court on Monday.   Tiangco, who resigned from the majority bloc after refusing to sign the complaint against Corona, however, was mum on whether or not he thinks Corona is guilty of the accusations being hurled against him.   “Wala akong sinasabing ganyan. Ang sinabi ko lang ‘yung nalalaman ko,” he said.   ‘Waste of time’   Still, his colleagues, who are part of the prosecution team, said Tiangco’s testimony is irrelevant to Corona’s case.   Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, prosecution spokesperson, said Tiangco should not have used the impeachment tribunal as a venue to air his grievances over the delay of the release of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly known as the “pork barrel.”   “What we heard [were] Congressman Tiangco’s gripes. He has issues, in fact, local issues that are not related to the impeachment case,” Angara said in a statement.   Another prosecution spokesman, Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo, for his part, had this to say about Tiangco’s testimony: “It’s all about pork barrel. What a waste of the court’s time.” — Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News