30 NUP solons back VP Sara Duterte impeachment; 'yes' votes may hit 180 — Puno

At least 30 of the 55 members of the National Unity Party (NUP) are expected to vote in favor of the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte—a number that could push the total “yes” votes to as many as 180, House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Ronaldo Puno said Wednesday.

Puno, who also serves as NUP chairman, made the disclosure a day after announcing that the party would adopt a "conscience vote" rather than take a unified stand on the impeachment.

“The majority [of us in NUP] is in favor of sending this to the Senate. We have a hardcore group that is still opposed to the proposal, and some who want to abstain,” Puno said in a Zoom press conference.

Puno said the majority of NUP members support transmitting the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate, with at least 30 lawmakers already in favor.

“We will have one more round of district consultations, but the situation in NUP is that a majority favors transmitting the Articles of Impeachment [against the Vice President] to the Senate," he said.

"A little over half of us are in favor. There are at least 30,” Puno added.

The NUP chairman also said that as many as 180 lawmakers—well beyond the constitutionally required one-third of the 318-member House—could vote to impeach the Vice President, given that major political parties are expected to support transmitting the case to the Senate for trial.

“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. NPC has 49 members; if you count 30 for NPC, that brings it to 150," Puno said.

"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.

Lakas-CMD is led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cousin, former Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, while Partido Federal ng Pilipinas is the President’s political party. The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) is led in the House by Deputy Speaker Jayjay Suarez of Quezon.

Another member of the House majority coalition is the Nacionalista Party, although its membership is smaller than that of the other major parties.

In an interview with reporters from the Hague on Monday, Duterte questioned the "certainty" of some lawmakers that she will be impeached.

"If it's just ordinary individuals, like ordinary Filipinos, let's leave it alone. Because that's their opinion, that's their feelings, you can't change someone's feelings," she said.

"But it's probably different when it's a congressman who's saying it or a senator who's saying it because you're going to ask, 'why are you so sure that it's over?'” Duterte added.

According to Puno, uncovering alleged hidden wealth is key to building an impeachment case against Duterte.

“The burden of proof in showing that a Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) is fraudulent is on the one making the accusation," he said

"The declared wealth [of the Vice President] is around P80 million, which nobody believes, and which the bank deposit records from the AMLC were intended to disprove,” referring to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The Vice President previously declared a net worth of P88 million in her joint SALN with her husband as of end-2024.

“So, hanapin ‘yung hidden wealth. In the case of President Estrada before, ipinakita ‘yung mga bahay, ‘yung Boracay mansion, and others," he said.

"Those could not be reconciled with the SALN. I don’t know how they’re going to proceed with this in the Senate, but I think SALN discrepancies are something they should look at because that is probably the strongest area where proof can be presented,” Puno added, referring to the 2000 impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada, who was ousted in January 2001.

During House Justice Committee hearings, Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that around P6.7 billion in covered and suspicious bank transactions were recorded under the names of the Vice President and her husband, Manases Carpio.

Of this amount, P3.7 billion was attributed to the Vice President, while P2.998 billion was linked to Carpio. The report also flagged P791 million in transactions with undetermined inflows and outflows.

The Office of the Ombudsman likewise confirmed during the hearings that the Vice President, in her joint SALN with her husband, declared zero cash on hand and in bank accounts from 2019 to 2024.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also testified that businesses linked to the couple, based on their filings, were either minimally profitable or operating at a loss.

The Vice President’s camp has argued that their cash holdings were reflected under the “other assets” portion of their SALN.

Puno added that the tax returns of the Vice President and her businesses would also be crucial if the impeachment case proceeds to the Senate.

“I would be interested in finding out whether there are any cases of tax violations filed against any of those income tax returns, because that would certainly have an effect one way or the other on the case,” he said.

In a separate interview, House Justice Committee Chair Gerville Luistro said lawmakers’ votes will depend on three factors: evidence, party position, and conscience.

“Some may consider the evidence, some may consider the position of the party, some may consider a conscience vote. But what will be best for the country should also be considered by House members,” Luistro said.

On Tuesday, the committee report on the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Duterte reached the House plenary after being referred to the Committee on Rules.

The Rules panel is expected to set the schedule for plenary debates and voting, which may take place on May 11.

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House Committee on Justice charge the Vice President with betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, and other high crimes over the following allegations:

• misuse or abuse of confidential funds
• unexplained wealth
• bribery
• an alleged plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez

—MCG, GMA News