NUP, LP to go for 'conscience vote' in VP Sara impeachment

The National Unity Party (NUP) won’t have a party stand on the upcoming House plenary vote for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

NUP Chairman and Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said that the party will go for a conscience vote “in respect of each NUP member’s independence in exercising their constitutional function.”

“The NUP has consistently stood as a reliable and steadfast partner of the administration, supporting its priorities and ensuring stability in governance. At the same time, on a matter as serious as impeachment, every member must be guided by their own judgment, their conscience, and the interests of the people they represent,” Puno said in a statement.

“We believe impeachment is a constitutional process, not a partisan exercise. The strength of our institutions lies in allowing each member to decide freely, without undue pressure or expectation of uniformity,” Puno added.

Likewise, Puno expressed unequivocal support to the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., regardless of the result of the looming impeachment vote.

“Our support for the administration remains steady,” Puno added.

The NUP initially has at least 43 members, but House sources have pegged its number with at least 80 members as of Tuesday afternoon, May 5, due to new members who bolted out of former ruling party Lakas-CMD.

Liberal Party

In a separate text message, Liberal Party President and former Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III said that the LP will also go for a conscience vote for the impeachment of Vice President Duterte.

Tañada made the response after one of LP’s stalwarts, Caloocan City Rep. Edgar “Egay” Erice, said he will skip the House plenary vote on the impeachment of the Vice President because the impeachment is only about the warring political dynaties of Dutertes and the Marcoses.

Aside from Erice, other members of LP has in the House of Representatives are:

• House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of ML party-list
• Muntinlupa Rep. Jaime Fresnedi
• Oriental Mindoro Second District Rep. Alfonso Umali
• Albay First District Rep. Karina Lagman
• Zamboanga del Norte Third District Rep. Michael Amatong and
• Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao

“The LP House contingent had already met and he (Erice) was present in the meeting last March 3. There were two items on the agenda of the meeting that were discussed…impeachment and anti-political dynasty. The meeting already happened and Rep. Egay attended and participated,” Tañada told GMA News Online.

“On the impeachment, the members of the House contingent agreed that it will be a conscience vote. On the anti-political dynasty bill, it will be a party vote,” he added.

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas

House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez, meanwhile, bared that his party, the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas has agreed on a stand on the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

"Yes, napag-usapan namin. We had a dinner last night," Benitez said in an ambush interview.

(Yes, we talked about it.)

"Pinag-usapan namin lahat ng nalaman doon sa mga hearings. And yon ang magiging stand namin," he added.

He refused to divulge their party's stand, saying it will be revealed during the voting in plenary but added that "PFP is the party of the President."

(We discussed everything we learned during the hearings. And that will be our stand.)

He also denied reports that members of the House are being coerced or bribed to vote for the impeachment of the vice president.

"Wala. It is consensus building dahil alam po natin ang hirap po manakot at manuhol at this time dahil krisis na nga po tayo. So pinag-focus po natin yung mga talagang issues ng bayan. So hindi po namin nafi-feel na, I don't know," Benitez said.

(No. It is consensus building because we know how difficult it is to intimidate and bribe at this time because we are in a crisis. So we focused on the real issues of the nation. So we don't feel like, I don't know.)

There are 318 members of the House of Representatives.

At least one-third of the 318, or 106 House members, must vote in favor of the impeachment of the Vice President for the House to be able to proceed to the trial before the Senate impeachment court.

House justice committee chairperson and Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro is confident that the number will be reached.

”I am positive that the plenary will approve the committee report. I do not want to preempt what number will be able to get during the plenary vote, but because of the numbers that was yielded in the determination of probable cause as well as the approval of committee report, I think these are sufficient basis for as to believe that it will be approved as well in the plenary,” Luistro said.

Luistro also said that the House of Representatives will be ready to vote on the Articles of Impeachment against Duterte by next week.

The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President accuses her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts:

· Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential fund and using them as bribes

· Threatening to kill President Marcos, Jr. and his family, including her desire to remove the head of the Chief Executive and

· Alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth. —with reports from Tina Panganiban-Perez/ VAL, GMA News