Puno: Around 60% of NUP to support transmission of VP Sara impeach case

HOUSE Deputy Speaker and National Unity Party (NUP) Chairman Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo said Wednesday that roughly 60% of the NUP bloc, the second largest political party in Congress, is expected to vote in favor of transmitting the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte to the Senate.

Speaking to reporters, Puno said that while discussions within the 55-member party show some lawmakers still opposed to the impeachment, a majority are leaning toward a “yes” vote.

He added, however, that positions may still shift after members complete their district consultations ahead of the May 11 plenary vote.

“We have a hard core that is still negative to the proposal. There is a middle ground of some people who want to abstain. But 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.

“But right now, the situation in NUP is, I think there’s a majority that are favoring the sending of these articles of impeachment to the Senate,” he added.

Asked to quantify the majority, Puno estimated: “Of our 55 members, siguro mga, I would say maybe 60%, a little over half.”

He added that this translates to “at least 30” members currently inclined to vote yes but still subject to final consultations with constituents, considering NUP also has members representing districts in Mindanao — which is also known as the Dutertes’ political stronghold.

“I think there’s at least 30. It depends again on what their consultations with their districts will say,” he said, acknowledging some members are facing strong resistance from Mindanaoan constituents opposed to the impeachment.

“‘Yung mga problema, diyan siyempre in Mindanao. Nahirapan ‘yung mga aming mga miyembro kasi when they ask around, everybody says no. I mean that’s just the fact of the matter. They will call their barangays, and everybody is saying no,” Puno added.

The deputy speaker also said some members are experiencing pressure from an influential religious group not to support the impeachment.

“There are many districts where there’s a very high percentage of voters from that church. So, they of course have an important voice also in their districts,” Puno said.

With roughly 30 NUP members inclined to vote yes, Puno said at least half could face electoral repercussions in 2028 if they maintain that position in the May 11 vote.

During the Committee on Justice’s deliberations on the impeachment complaints against Duterte, all NUP members present — including Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo — voted to find probable cause on allegations of public fund misuse, bribery, unexplained wealth, and grave threats.

They were also among the 55 lawmakers who approved the committee report and articles of impeachment for plenary consideration.

“Walang nag-no. So there are two that were absent I think on the day of voting and they were misrepresented as being against it in one of the news articles that came out. So everybody that was there voted yes, except those that were not there,” Puno clarified.

He noted, however, that votes at the plenary level may diverge from committee positions depending on constituent sentiment.

“In the committee level, you judge it like a congressman because that is your job. But when you vote in the plenary, you talk to your constituency. If they’re going to vote other than the way they vote in the committee, it will be because their constituency asked them to vote in another way,” Puno said.

Despite internal divisions and external pressure, Puno expressed confidence that Duterte’s impeachment would secure the required one-third vote, or 106 members, noting that lawmakers from the largest political party, Lakas-CMD, have also demonstrated support for a Senate trial.

“Alam mo, tignan natin yung LAKAS. LAKAS is still the biggest party and LAKAS is the father party of this impeachment complaint. So siguro halos lahat, ang tingin ko sa LAKAS, will vote for impeachment. Kung ipagsama mo ‘yung boto ng LAKAS lang at ng 55 na bumoto sa committee, you will already get your 106,” he said.

“So what are the odds? Kung pumupusta ka sa karera ng kabayo, eh panalo na siguro itong kabayong ito kasi 106 lang ang kailangan,” he added.

Puno estimates that at least 180 lawmakers in the 318-member House will vote to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.

On Tuesday night, the plenary referred the Committee on Justice’s report on the impeachment resolution against Duterte to the Committee on Rules.

The resolution is expected to be calendared by the Committee on Rules and returned to the plenary, where members will be given copies and time to review the articles and supporting evidence ahead of the May 11 vote