A MEMBER of the House Justice Committee said they have "high confidence" they can reach the required 106 votes in a plenary vote to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte due to the overwhelming evidence presented during the committee hearings.
In a press briefing in Quezon City on Saturday, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said reaching the 106 votes needed to elevate the articles of impeachment to the Plenary is "not difficult to surmount," but added that they will let every House member decide for themselves based on their conscience and the evidence.
"But I am quite certain, based on the evidence of unexplained wealth, confidential funds, and the threats against the president — they can just choose from those. I think they will be convinced eventually," Ridon added.
Ridon noted that the 53 members of the House Justice committee who voted for probable cause put them on track to secure an additional 53 more to reach the needed 106 votes — one-third of all House members — to impeach Duterte and send her case to trial before the Senate.
Some House members told The Manila Times that the number remains fluid as some remain undecided or have already signified they will not vote for the articles to be transmitted to the Senate.
The National Unity Party, the second-largest party in the House of Representatives with more than 55 members, said they will release their decision on May 5, once the congressional session resumes.
One of its key officials. Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano told The Manila Times that their original stand was a "conscience vote."
"You will eventually find out if we will take a party stand or if it will be a conscience vote; however, historically, we in the NUP have never really been dictated to," Valeriano said.
He added that no one in their party will be reprimanded if they choose to vote against the party's stand.
The Nationalist People's Coalition, another major party in the House with 34 members, said it will wait for the committee report before making a stand.
"We will await copy of final committee report and discuss soon," Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, a senior NPC official, told The Manila Times in a text message.
Meanwhile, Quezon City Rep. Bong Suntay, a known Duterte ally, said the 106-vote threshold may be "achievable" but not without effort.
"A lot of factors will come into play: first, the political affiliation and political leanings of the person; [second], the sentiments of their constituency — whether they are for or against impeachment at this time, with only two years remaining and given the many controversies currently unfolding and surrounding our country," Suntay told The Manila Times.
He said he believes many lawmakers will also question the articles during the plenary debates scheduled for May 11.
"As we all know, not all members of Congress were able to participate in the committee hearing where the members of the Committee on Justice presented their opinions. So, if they have questions they would like to ask, those would be addressed during the plenary debates once the Committee on Justice report is moved forward," Suntay said.
It is also expected that the four-member Duterte bloc in Congress — led by Davao City Reps. Paolo and Omar Duterte and Isidro Ungab, along with Pwersa ng Pilipinong Pandaragat Rep. Harold Duterte — will vote against impeachment.
Another lawmaker who publicly stated he won't vote for the impeachment is Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, who said the proceedings are just a "waste of time."
Meanwhile, Ridon said that the misuse of confidential funds, the P448 million that was being ordered to be returned by the Commission on Audit, and the P6.77 billion inflows, and the threats made by Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez will be consolidated into at least four articles of impeachment that would be approved by the committee on Monday.
Ridon also said the composition of the House Prosecution Team is now being discussed, with several names being floated. Some of them were in the first team of prosecutors in the voided impeachment case of Duterte in the 19th Congress.
These include House Justice Panel Chairman and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, Reps. Joel Chua, Jonathan Keith Flores, Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, Ysabel Zamora, Lordan Suan, Jose Manuel Diokno, Leila de Lima, and Ridon himself.
Ridon also challenged Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte to prove his claims that several lawmakers are being called to vote for the impeachment or they will be defunded.
"I don't think there's any reward needed to impeach the vice president (because) the evidence is clear," Ridon said.
Impeachment court
Also over the weekend, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said the Senate may immediately convene as an impeachment court upon receipt of the articles of impeachment against the vice president, but the trial is unlikely to begin before June due to required pre-trial procedures.
Lacson said Senate President Vicente Sotto III favors the immediate convening of the impeachment court once the articles are transmitted.
However, he noted that standard procedures — including issuance of summons, submission of replies, and a preliminary conference — could take at least three weeks before the trial proper can begin.
“Once the articles of impeachment are transmitted to us, if we follow the processes, we’re talking of at least three weeks before the actual trial starts,” Lacson said in a radio interview, speaking in English and Filipino.
He said a preliminary conference, or pre-trial, would allow both prosecution and defense panels to define issues, stipulate facts, and mark possible evidence in advance.
Lacson cited the impeachment trial of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona as an example of why a structured pre-trial phase is necessary.
He said the absence of such a process during that trial led to procedural confusion, including the introduction of so-called “surprise witnesses.”
“It is better to have a preliminary conference where the prosecution and defense agree on which issues would be tackled and which would not before the trial,” he said.
On the possibility of a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court, Lacson said the impeachment court would deliberate and decide collectively if such a situation arises.
He maintained that unless a TRO is issued, the trial should proceed. However, he emphasized that any court order would be discussed and subjected to a vote among senator-judges.
“The impeachment court is a constitutional body.... Its decision cannot be appealed even before the Supreme Court,” he said, while noting that compliance with legal processes would still be debated internally if needed.
Lacson also disclosed that senators met last Thursday to prepare for the possible trial.
During the meeting, members were reminded to act as impartial judges and avoid showing bias toward either the prosecution or the defense.
Sen. Robinhood Padilla, a member of the minority bloc, attended the meeting and was asked to relay the reminder to his colleagues.
“We must listen to the questions during direct and cross-examination, and base our decisions on the evidence,” Lacson said.
Budget
Lacson added that about P27 million may still be available for the impeachment proceedings under continuing appropriations in the 2025 national budget. Of the P27.544 million allocated for last year’s impeachment-related expenses, only about P512,000 has been spent, primarily for senator-judges’ robes, identification materials, and related items.
He said unused funds may still be used this year, but will be returned to the National Treasury if not spent.
The Senate, acting as an impeachment court under the Constitution, is tasked with trying impeachment cases once transmitted by the House of Representatives.
Senator-judges are required to hear evidence, examine witnesses, and render a final judgment of conviction or acquittal, which is not subject to appeal.
