The chairman of the National Unity Party (NUP) said that a majority of lawmakers under partylists and coalitions at the House of Representatives were in favor of transmitting the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate for impeachment trial.
Antipolo 1st District Rep. Ronald Puno revealed that he anticipates that at least 180 solons would be voting in favor of Duterte’s impeachment, particularly since most major parties have links to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“If you count Lakas-CMD with 60 votes, then 30 for us in NUP, and Partido Federal has 51 members, even if you just count 30 for Partido Federal, the number is already at 120," Puno said.
"NPC has 49 members, if you count 30 for NPC, that brings it to 150. 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.
For his coalition’s part, Puno’s claim of 30 votes meant that at least 60 percent of the total members of the party are going to be in favor of the impeachment.
This development comes just a day after proclaiming that the NUP was going to be undertaking a “conscience vote” on the matter where every single lawmaker would decide for themselves whether to say yes or no.
Puno noted that the decision to not conduct a collective decision was based on their belief that an impeachment was a process engrained into the constitution rather than a “partisan exercise.”
“The strenght of our institutions lies in allowing each member to decide freely, without undue pressure or expectation of uniformity,” he said in a statement.
In recent days, many lawmakers have given their takes regarding not only the importance of voting, but the implications that it has on the country.
During a radio interview, Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor said that the camp of the Vice President had not given lawmakers any reason to vote against pushing forward with the impeachment.
Defensor noted that the non-appearance of Duterte in the impeachment proceedings of the House Committee on Justice was a wasted opportunity to clear her name and stop the process then and there.
Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar “Egay” Erice, on the other hand, expressed his intent to not participate in the voting as he claimed that the constitutional measure had been weaponized by the current administration to destroy its opponents.
Erice cited agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Comission on Audit (COA), and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as the agencies that were mobilized to support the motive.
He further referred to the supposed bagman of the Vice President, Ramil Madriaga, as a “hoax,” claiming that his statements were too “fantastic.”
The House plenary is expected to vote on the impeachment on 11 May, giving ample time for lawmakers to properly cast their vote as part of the process.