• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Twelve lawmakers from Negros Island Region (NIR), including Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Manuel Frederick Ko, were among the 257 members of the House of Representatives who voted for the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The Lower House approved on Monday, May 11 the justice committee report that found probable cause in the complaints against the Vice President, who made history by becoming the first Philippine official to be impeached twice.
The 12 NIR lawmakers include Deputy Speaker and Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, Negros Occidental’s Julio Ledesma IV, Alfredo Marañon III, Javier Miguel Benitez, Jeffrey Ferrer, Emilio Bernardino Yulo, and Mercedes Alvarez, Negros Oriental’s Emmanuel Iway, Maria Isabel Sagarbarria and Janice Degamo, Siquijor’s Rep. Zaldy Villa, and Ko.
Twenty-five lawmakers voted against Duterte’s impeachment while nine others abstained.
Only one-third or 106 of the 318 House members are needed to approve the articles of impeachment against Duterte.
The case against her will be transmitted to the Senate for trial.
In a statement, Caritas Philippines president and Diocese of San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza called on lawmakers to treat the impeachment proceedings not as a political strategy, but as a constitutional responsibility grounded in fairness and justice.
Alminaza emphasized that the process should focus on determining accountability based on credible evidence, rather than political convenience or maneuvering.
He also pointed to public sentiment, citing a March 2026 survey indicating that 69 percent of Filipinos support the impeachment process.
“Our people have expressed their desire and hope that the Vice President should face the charges against her in the impeachment complaint,” he said. “This is an expression of our people’s desire and hope that there be a credible mechanism and process to hold our public officials accountable.” | GB
