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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Too much division' in NUP over VP Duterte impeachment, says Puno

'Too much division' in NUP over VP Duterte impeachment, says Puno

Published Feb 26, 2026 08:48 pm

At A Glance

  • National Unity Party (NUP) Chairman Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno admits that there's "too much division" in the party when it comes to the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


National Unity Party (NUP) Chairman Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno admits that there's "too much division" in the party when it comes to the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I doubt that there will be a uniform party stand here because there is just too much division among our members," Puno told House reporters in an interview Thursday, Feb. 26.
"So the tendency now or the direction now is that we probably will have para kaya conscience vote na (something like a conscience vote) that everybody will be allowed to vote the way he wants to vote,” said the House deputy speaker.
The Committee on Justice is scheduled to begin tackling Vice President Duterte's four impeachment complaints on Monday, March 2.
Rather out of the blue, the NUP--the second biggest political party in the House of Representatives in terms of membership--came out with a supoosed party stand on Wednesday night, Feb. 25.
In the statement that was attributed to NUP Secretary General Reginald Velasco, the party said that if would only vote in favor of Duterte's impeachment only if it sees "compelling new evidence".
This was a surprise to some, especially since the NUP--along with Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD)--were viewed as the main drivers of the impeachment proceedings against the same official last year under the previous 19th Congress.
One of the endorsers of the fourth complaint filed against Duterte--Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante--is even an NUP stalwart.
While he echoed some of the points in the statement, Puno clarified that it was merely a "consensus" of the people from NUP that he spoke with.
There are just over 40 NUP members in the 316-strong House of Representatives. 
“No, this is not the party stand. This is just the consensus of the ones that I have talked to.We will have another formal meeting,” the Antipolo lawmaker said.
Puno further said of the impeachment proceedings: "There's no clear bias or leaning towards either side at this point. So we are very divided right now. So we ended up with let's see what the evidence will show.”
Last Feb. 18, Vice President Duterte announced her plan to run for the Palace seat in 2028.
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