What happened in the hearing today?
1. Senate will not accept any presentation of future witnesses on articles 1,4,5,6, and 8 and will not make a judgment on the articles. Call it perseverance for Cuevas, he is trying to drag the trial to a long long unbearable hearing.
2. Cuevas wanted to resurrect a preliminary hearing which was already decided by the Senate a loooong looong time ago!
3. Cuevas asserts that the impeachment hearing is invalid since the complaint was not properly presented or filed.
4. A voluntary witness, Congressman Tiangco was encouraged to testify about the impeachment hearing of, hold your hats, not of the Chief Justice, but of Merceditas Gutierez, the former personal Ombudsman of GMA :). The Defense claim that politics and intimidation (like non-release of public pork barrel funds) played a part in the approval of the impeachment proceedings. Oh, of course, impeachments are political proceedings! Also Cong. Tiangco DID not sign approval of the impeachment of the Chief Justice. This is a dilatory tactic of the defense. It looks like Tiangco does not act like a politician, but acted childish!
5. Now every one knows the phone number of the DBM secretary, which is a lapse of judgement on the part of the Congressman.
6. Prosecution should learn to object quickly to witnesses statements. Being a first timer is not a good reason, they should have learned already on the first 26 days of the trial.
7. Defense is showing hesitancy in presenting evidence about undeclared peso and dollar accounts.
8. Cong. Tiangco talks about Congressional proceedings, and we know that Congress is NOT the one on trial. The effect of Tiangco is to put Congress to unnecessary scrutiny. Call it political entertainment, but this just lengthens the hearing.
Well everyone does not feel good day today, but it is the defense panel that looks the most foolish of all today!
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