NUP to 'most likely' vote against Sara Duterte's impeachment

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February 26, 2026 | 2:24pm

MANILA, Philippines — As some lawmakers have predicted, Vice President Sara Duterte's presidential bid has a high chance of swaying congressional votes on the renewed push to impeach her. 

The National Unity Party (NUP), which holds the second-largest bloc in the House of Representatives, said in a statement on Wednesday, February 25, that it will "most likely" vote against impeaching Duterte.

The party argued that the four complaints largely reiterate issues already investigated in prior hearings or still under investigation and do not offer "new and material evidence."

"Unless compelling new evidence emerges during the course of these hearings that fundamentally alters the factual basis for the impeachment complaint, the NUP will most likely not vote in favor of this measure," the statement read. 

However, the NUP clarified that it does not wish to "preempt" the proceedings and will withhold a final decision until after the hearings on the complaints. 

"Nevertheless, the Party remains open to evaluating any new evidence that may arise and will assess such developments on their merits, guided solely by the Constitution and the rule of law," it added. 

While much of the evidence cited in the impeachment complaints was already revealed during congressional hearings on the alleged misuse of public funds in the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), the party's statement implies that it no longer finds this evidence convincing.

This comes despite the fact that many of its members had endorsed the very complaint that led to her impeachment in February 2025, which relied on much of the same evidence cited in the new complaints.

These include records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Commission on Audit (COA), which demonstrate the use of "fictitious" names on acknowledgment receipts and irregular disbursements of confidential funds.

Some of the NUP members who voted to impeach Duterte in 2025 include Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor, Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante (Manila, 6th District), and at least 15 others who were reelected in the 20th Congress. 

Abante, in fact, was one of the endorsers of the fourth complaint filed on February 18. But unlike in 2025, no impeachment complaint sought to gather the endorsement of one-third of all House members to expedite proceedings to a trial. 

Several factors may have caused Congress to change its tune, including the Supreme Court striking down the impeachment as unconstitutional based on technicalities, the flood control investigation that shifted the public's attention to alleged corruption in Congress, and the upcoming 2028 elections. 

Now, the NUP is saying that Congress should dedicate more of its time and resources to addressing “more pressing and urgent national concerns” — an argument echoed by lawmakers and individuals who have long opposed Duterte's impeachment. 

This was especially asserted by pro-Duterte supporters, such as Sens. Bong Go and Bato Dela Rosa, when the Senate deliberated on whether to proceed with the vice president's impeachment trial in June and August 2025. 

"An impeachment proceeding grounded on issues that have already been previously raised and examined would inevitably consume substantial time and attention from both chambers, resources which we believe would be better directed toward matters that have a more immediate impact on the economic stability, public safety, and the daily welfare of Filipinos," the NUP said. 

The House Committee on Justice is set to begin hearings on the sufficiency in form and substance of the four complaints filed against Duterte on March 2. The proceedings are expected to extend longer than those held for President Bongbong Marcos.

Duterte faces unresolved allegations of corruption, bribery, unexplained wealth, and involvement in a conspiracy to commit murder against Marcos and some of his closest allies.