House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno on Tuesday denied reports of supposed meetings between the National Unity Party (NUP) and the leadership of the House of Representatives regarding the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Press reports regarding supposed meetings between the National Unity Party (NUP) and the Speaker or Majority Leader Sandro Marcos are not true,” Puno said.
He added that the NUP has not held discussions with House leaders about impeachment, projects or related matters. “There are likewise no such talks being planned,” Puno said.
Puno stressed that any position the party will take on the impeachment issue will be decided only after discussions among its members and after evaluating the evidence presented during the proceedings.
“Any position to be taken by the NUP on the impeachment will be arrived at only after a discussion among its members and after carefully evaluating the evidence presented. It will never be the result of any influence or pressure from anyone,” he said.
The clarification came a day after the NUP called on the House Committee on Justice to present stronger evidence in the impeachment complaints against Duterte.
In a statement issued Monday and signed by Puno as party chairman, the NUP urged the committee to strengthen the case before any move to transmit it to the Senate for trial.
“Impeachment is a serious constitutional process that must be anchored on clear, compelling and credible evidence. In the absence of such evidence, it will be very difficult for members of the NUP to vote in favor of transmitting the impeachment complaints to the Senate for trial,” the statement added.
Puno said the party does not want the House to elevate a weak case to the Senate.
He also denied reports that the NUP — the second-largest political party in the House of Representatives — had softened its position on Duterte’s impeachment.
“Contrary to some news reports, we have not walked back on our previous statements regarding this impeachment. Our position remains consistent. We reiterate that we cannot vote in favor of a rehashed case resting on previously presented information that, in our opinion, remains weak and inconclusive,” he said.
Puno said the party will closely monitor the hearings and assess the evidence that will be presented.
The NUP and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats were widely seen as key drivers of the impeachment proceedings against Duterte last year under the 19th Congress.
The Supreme Court later declared the 2025 impeachment case against Duterte unconstitutional due to a technicality.
On 25 February, the NUP issued a party position stating it would not support Duterte’s impeachment unless “compelling new evidence” emerges during the hearings of the House Committee on Justice.