I USED TO admire Congressman Toby Tiangco for his for his benevolence to his constituents in Navotas providing scholarship and free medical treatment to the indigents in hospitals.
Not anymore, because he has been behind quite a number of unsubstantiated accusations of kickbacks and bribery against fellow legislators. For one, he is not completely without sin in this regard.
His ambition for a higher post, which hinges on a tandem of VP Sara and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for 2028, somehow transformed him into a loose gun for the Dutertes, accusing his colleagues of accepting bribes in pursuing Sara’s impeachment.
Tiangco maybe pinning his hopes that should the tandem succeed he would get the speakership.
Tiangco has served four non-consecutive terms as congressman for the lone district of Navotas as of early 2026. He previously held the seat for three consecutive terms (2010–2019) and returned to Congress in 2022, holding the seat during the 19th Congress, following his term as mayor (2019-2022).
Now, he is busy exposing his colleagues on alleged bribery of lawmakers in pushing the impeachment of Sara, which was strongly refuted as “categorically false” for which he is being challenged to present proof by Tingog partylist group Jude Acidre, who also chairs the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education
“The claim of Rep. Toby Tiangco that Members of the House were bribed with funding allocations to support the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte is categorically false,” Acidre was quoted by Business Mirror.
“There was no bribe. There was no deal. There was no exchange,” Acidre said, adding that “if there is evidence, present it. If there is none, stop misleading the public.”
Acidre also dismissed insinuations that House leadership, including former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, influenced lawmakers through funding or favors.
“Let me be clear: at no point was there any instruction, inducement, or pressure from the leadership to secure signatures through funding or favors,” Acidre said.
“To suggest otherwise is not only false—it is a serious allegation that demands proof, not propaganda,” he added.
He urged Tiangco, a first cousin in-law of both President Marcos and Romualdez, to bring his claims to the proper forum.
“If such a claim were true, the proper course is obvious: file the appropriate cases, present the evidence, and prove it in the proper forum,” he said.
“But until that happens, these claims remain exactly what they are: unsubstantiated accusations designed to cast doubt, not to reveal truth,” he said.
Acidre described the allegation as an affront to the integrity of the House and its members.
“To allege that Members of Congress sold their judgment in exchange for funding is not just false—it is a reckless and baseless accusation that insults the integrity of the House and the intelligence of the Filipino people,” he said.
He maintained that support for the impeachment complaint was based on evidence presented during committee proceedings.
“What there was, plain and simple, was evidence to support the impeachment complaint. I know this because I was there,” Acidre said. “I sat through the hearings. I listened to the testimonies. I reviewed the documents.”
Acidre also underscored that his decision was not made lightly, noting his previous support for Duterte.
“I campaigned for Vice President Duterte in 2022. I supported her candidacy. I believed in her. That is precisely why this decision was not easy,” he said. “But leadership is not about loyalty to personalities – it is about fidelity to the truth.”
“When the evidence became clear, the conclusion became unavoidable: there were compelling grounds to support impeachment. I signed not out of convenience but out of conviction,” he said.
He warned that attacks on the process could distract from the substantive issues raised in the impeachment proceedings.
“At a time when serious questions are being raised, when evidence is being examined, and when accountability is being demanded, some have chosen not to answer the questions but to attack the process itself,” Acidre said.
“To dismiss all of that as ‘manipulated’ simply because one disagrees with the outcome is not a defense—it is an evasion,” he said.
Acidre said that in the end, accountability must rest on evidence and due process.
“I did not sign the impeachment complaint because it was easy. I signed because it was right, and no amount of noise, accusation or political theater will change that, Acidre said.