Blaming Sara's impeachment for Alyansa loss in Mindanao 'misleading' - Barbers

Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers on Saturday disagreed with an observation that administration-backed senatorial candidates in the 2025 midterm elections failed to perform well in Mindanao due to the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign manager and Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco had earlier claimed that the House's decision in February to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate had affected their senatorial bets' chances of winning over voters in Mindanao, where the Dutertes enjoy widespread support.

Barbers said the observation was “misleading and detached from the real sentiment of Mindanaoan voters.”

“The results speak for themselves… 36 out of 44 Mindanao lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint were reelected. That’s a clear 81.81% win rate. If the impeachment was such a political liability, we would’ve been wiped out in our own districts. But we were not—we were overwhelmingly returned to office,” he said.

''They did not vote based on who defended or attacked a Duterte. They voted for local leaders who delivered, who stood their ground, and who worked with integrity.''

Barbers said Mindanao voters ''backed us because we had the spine to uphold the rule of law, even if it meant taking on powerful names.''

''That is not political suicide—that is leadership,'' he said.

“Senate campaigns are won with message, machinery, and momentum—not by shielding sacred cows from scrutiny. If some candidates underperformed, it was because we didn’t connect enough at the national level, not because we fought for truth and transparency,” Barbers added.

Out of the 11 candidates that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supported, six were able to secure Senate seats. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News

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