180 House members seen to vote for House impeachment

MANILA, Philippines — The chairman of the National Unity Party (NUP) says it will be easy to muster the required 106 threshold votes to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte.

House Deputy Speaker and NUP chair Ronaldo Puno told reporters that “at least 30” of the NUP members will be voting to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.

“If you count Lakas-CMD with 60 votes, then 30 for us in NUP, and Partido Federal ng Pilipinas has 51 members – even if you just count 30 for Partido Federal, the number is already at 120. NPC has 49 members; if you count 30 for NPC, that brings it to 150,” he said.

“Then there are 63 party-list lawmakers, whose majority is really in favor of impeaching the Vice President. If there is a majority, that’s already good. I suspect it will be about 180,” he added.

Puno conceded though that this may still be fluid, which is why they will be going to their districts to consult their constituents on what stand do they really want for Duterte – hold her accountable or let her go scot-free.

Most members of the Liberal Party (LP) are also expected to vote in favor of impeaching Duterte, Mamamayang Liberal (ML) party-list president Teddy Baguilat said in an interview with “Storycon” on One News yesterday.

He said other LP members in Congress, including Oriental Mindoro Rep. Alfonso Umali Jr. and Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Ian Amatong, are expected to vote in favor of impeaching Duterte.

ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who also serves as LP chairperson, is an endorser of one of the complaints against Duterte.

“In terms of the party consensus, we are supportive of accountability and impeachment proceedings,” Baguilat said.

House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor pointed out that Duterte has no one else to blame but herself because she gave members of the House no choice but vote in the affirmative, on the basis that she waived her right to defend herself.

“I’m very sure that many more congressmen will vote yes, not only because of the evidence, but simply because the evidence presented in the committee hearings were not rebutted. The VP did not answer,” he said.

“If the camp of VP Duterte only joined the proceedings, then congressmen would have been enlightened, as well as the people who have been religiously monitoring the progress of the case on national TV. But they didn’t, that’s why the very strong evidence became unrebutted,” he said.

Defensor expressed full confidence about Duterte’s impeachment next week, predicting the numbers will definitely reach beyond the 106-vote threshold, which comprises one-third of the total 318 membership of the House.

The 1Sambayan coalition also backs the impeachment proceedings, saying there is “overwhelming” evidence to hold the Vice President accountable.

“This is not political harassment or strategy – it is a moral and constitutional imperative well-documented and based on undisputed facts,” 1Sambayan said in a statement.

“The evidence speaks for itself: it is overwhelming, shocking and undeniable,” it stressed.

Convening of impeach court may be blocked

The Senate might ultimately not convene as an impeachment court to try Duterte if a majority of the senators formally vote to block the proceedings, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum yesterday.

While Lacson asserted that convening the chamber as an impeachment court when the articles of impeachment are transmitted is an automatic constitutional duty, he acknowledged the political realities of the 24-member collegial body.

Anticipating that some colleagues would object to the proceedings, Lacson explained that a formal motion against convening would force the chamber to vote on it.

If the majority votes against convening, Lacson noted that it would become the official ruling of the Senate, a decision that would likely be challenged before the Supreme Court by those pushing for the trial.

He added that the senators who block the trial will have to answer directly to the public.

While no members of the majority have signified intent to actually stop the Senate from convening, Sen. Robin Padilla earlier said it was the natural course for the minority to oppose moves of the majority.

Should the Supreme Court issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the trial, Lacson said the senator-judges will vote among themselves on whether to respect the high court’s directive.

“We will discuss whether to follow or to comply with the temporary restraining order or not. Remember, impeachment court, it’s final, it is not appealable to the Supreme Court. So, we have our own rules. We are a, let’s say, co-equal,” he said.

Unless a TRO is issued and adopted by the chamber, Lacson gave assurance that the trial will proceed.

To ensure the trial’s orderliness while navigating complex legal debates, Lacson said that the Senate leadership is planning to designate Sen. Francis Pangilinan as “impeachment manager” and de facto floor leader.

“It is better to have a lawyer there, so that more or less he can signal the Senate President that an objection would be overruled or sustained,” Lacson said.

When asked if the majority bloc currently has the solid numbers to ensure the impeachment court convenes without a hitch, Lacson said “For now, I think it is solid. We are not hearing anything... Can be solid today, and then tomorrow it is not. It depends.”