Where have you been, Rep. Suarez?

Amid the jubilation among right-thinking Filipinos over the conviction of former first lady and current Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Romualdez Marcos, a veteran politician came to her rescue. Quezon Rep. Danilo E. Suarez, disputed minority leader of the House of Representatives, called on the people to refrain from making an issue of the conviction “for us to have closure.” He also challenged the public to cite “one case wherein you can accuse the (Marcos) family of stealing money from the government.”

Hello, Mr. Suarez! Where have you been? You mean, you don’t know how the Presidential Commission on Good Government, especially during the term of Sen. Jovito Salonga, succeeded in ferreting out the fact that huge amounts of money were stolen by the conjugal dictatorship and  deposited abroad using fictitious names?

The problem with the Marcoses—including their three children, cohorts and sympathizers—is that they have refused to acknowledge their guilt despite the preponderance of evidence and testimonies establishing their pillage  of the people’s money.

One of these shameless fans is Suarez, who defended to the hilt the homegrown despot and his wife by claiming that their critics were “very angry because they were communists” and “were enemies of the state.” The gall of this Quezon lawmaker!

Suarez should be reminded that his illustrious province mate, former senator Lorenzo Tañada,was a leading and widely acclaimed critic of the Marcos regime. Nobody in their right mind ever accused the Great Nationalist from Gumaca, Quezon, of being a communist and an enemy of the state.

The Filipino people highly respect Tañada for his honesty, integrity and probity. He had an unassailable record as a public servant, and was never blemished with even an iota of suspicion of accumulating ill-gotten wealth. Very much unlike the corrupt couple whom Suarez idolizes. Nakakahiya!

EUSEBIO S. SAN DIEGO, founder, Kaguro and former president, QCPSTA, essandiego@ymail.com