The National Unity Party (NUP), the second largest political partty in the House of Representatives in terms of membership, has laid out its cards on the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.

According to a statement from NUP on late Wednesday night, Feb. 25, the party "will most likely not vote in favor" of the moves to impeach Duterte unless "compelling new evidence" gets raised in the upcoming proceedings, to be carried out by the Committee on Justice.

"Impeachment is one of the most important constitutional powers entrusted to Congress. It is not a political instrument [or] a forum for revisiting matters already exhaustively examined," read the statement, which was attributed to NUP Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

"Rather, it is a solemn constitutional mechanism for enforcing accountability at the highest levels of public office, and should be evaluated carefully in light of the evidence presented," it said.

The NUP said that so far, it "has not seen the inclusion of new and material evidence that would warrant a departure from issues that have already been the subject of prior inquiries and extensive public hearings".

"Unless compelling new evidence emerges during the course of these hearings that fundamentally alters the factual basis for the impeachment complaint, the NUP will most likely not vote in favor of this measure," the NUP said.

"The party will not pre-empt such proceedings and remains prepared to assess any new evidence presented in the course of the deliberations," added the party, which has just over 40 stalwarts in the 316-strong House of Representatives.

To impeach Vice President Duterte, a one-third vote (105) is needed from plenary to adopt a recommendation from the justice panel to sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

The NUP faction in the House is led by Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno, the party chairman.

Only the Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez-led Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), with just under 100 stalwarts in the House, has a bigger membership. In the House. This means that the two parties alone have enough numbers to impeach Duterte, if and when the justice panel recommends the move in plenary. 

Lakas-CMD and NUP were perceived as the main drivers of the previous, successful attempt to impeach the lady official in 2025, under the previous 19th Congress. However, a Senate impeachment trial against Duterte never took place, and the articles of impeachment that were sent by the House were eventually declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC).

It's fair to say that the move to impeach the Davao-based official doesn't have as many backers as it used to just over a year ago in the lower chamber.

The NUP's statement came exactly a week after Duterte announced her plan to run for president in the May 2028 elections. 

"The NUP believes that Congress must carefully allocate its time, focus, and institutional resources toward more pressing and urgent national concerns," the party said.

"An impeachment proceeding grounded on issues that have already been previously raised and examined would inevitably consume substantial time and attention from both chambers, resources which we believe would be better directed toward matters that have a more immediate impact on the economic stability, public safety, and the daily welfare of Filipinos," it said.

"Nevertheless, the party remains open to evaluating any new evidence that may arise and will assess such developments on their merits, guided solely by the Constitution and the rule of law," the NUP noted.

Four impeachment complaints were filed against Vice President Duterte earlier this month. An NUP member, Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr., served as one of the endorsers or the fourth and final complaint that was filed.

Abante hasn't shied away from criticizing the Vice President before; it was during a budget hearing in the 19th Congress when the pastor-solon scolded the latter for not observing proper decorum.

A common allegation against Duterte between the impeachment raps filed last year and this year was her supposed misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd).

What makes the impeachment complaints different this year though are the inclusion of allegations made by ex-Duterte administration intelligence officer Ramil Madriaga against the Vice President.

In his affidavit that was leaked last year, Madriaga claimed that Vice President Duterte’s election campaign effort in 2022 was funded with money from Philippine Offshore and Gaming Operators (POGO) and drug dealers.

He also alleged to have acted as the Vice President's bagman and made multi-million peso cash deliveries.