Metro Manila, Philippines – At least 180 lawmakers back the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, more than enough to send the case for trial, two House leaders from major political parties said ahead of the scheduled May 11 plenary vote on the ouster bid.
Assistant Majority Leader Zia Adiong and Deputy Speaker Ronnie Puno disclosed the voting preference on Wednesday, May 6, as the parties separately convened to discuss the outcome of the impeachment complaints.
Adiong is a member and spokesman of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the biggest political party in the House of Representatives, while Puno chairs the second largest group, the National Unity Party (NUP).
The Constitution requires one-third of the House – in this case 106 votes – to transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate sitting as the Impeachment Court.
In an interview with reporters, Adiong said over 60 of their 69 members expressed support for the complaints against Duterte to be transmitted to the Senate for trial.
“Lakas will come out strong on Monday and we will support the impeachment complaint,” he said, noting that other members are still weighing their decision.
Adiong said it is possible that at least 200 votes may be secured, a number close to the 215 lawmakers who impeached Duterte in 2025, which the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, Puno said at least 30 out of NUP’s 55 members support the vice president’s impeachment. This is a major shift from the party’s previous stand before the impeachment hearings that it is unlikely to back impeachment unless new evidence is presented.
He said some members are hesitant to back impeachment supposedly over their constituents’ preference.
“The last conversation we had yesterday at our meeting was that we would all go back to our constituents and have one more round of conversations with them to see how we would vote finally on this matter,” Puno said.
The NUP previously said it is adopting a conscience vote on the ouster bid.
Puno admitted that a number of members were initially unsupportive of the complaints.
He said he himself is keen on how specific issues will be addressed in the Senate, in particular Duterte’s supposed unexplained wealth.
“I would be interested in finding out whether there are any cases of tax violations filed against any of those income tax returns because that would certainly have one way or the other on the case,” Puno said.
“I don’t know how they’re going to proceed with this in the Senate, but I think that is something that they should look at because that is probably the strongest area where some proof can be presented,” he added.
No repercussions
The NUP chairman said while he supports the ouster bid, he does not want any repercussions on lawmakers who may vote otherwise.
Adiong said insofar as Lakas-CMD is concerned, there is no penalty for members who may have a different position
Marikina 2nd district Rep. Miro Quimbo, a member of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., told reporters that there is no instruction to the members on how to vote.
“Walang inutos samin doon na ito dapat maging desisyon niyo pagdating sa kahit anong bagay, kung hindi man magkakahiwalay tayo, paparusahan kayo. As far as we’re concerned, we are left to our own personal choices,” he said.
[Translation: No one told us that this should be your decision when it comes to anything, or that we don’t end up going our separate ways, or you will be punished.]
Quimbo said PFP members convened on Monday, May 4. Unlike the Lakas-CMD and NUP, he noted that the 52 members did not voice their stance.
Duterte is facing complaints for culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and high crimes, among others over allegations of fund misuse, threats to the presidential family, and unexplained wealth.
She skipped all the proceedings and chose to issue statements and challenge the legality of the hearings with the SC. Her defense team maintained they would rather face the Impeachment Court.
