House Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V highlighted on Monday, April 20, the majority support for an impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte coming from survey respondents in her home turf of Mindanao.

Ortega was referring to the results of OCTA Research's “Tugon ng Masa” survey, conducted from March 19 to 25 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents.

“Magandang makita na ang suporta sa impeachment trial ay may malinaw na majority sa Mindanao at sa iba’t ibang socioeconomic classes. Ibig sabihin, mas dumarami ang nakakaunawa dito at mas marami na ang humihingi ng accountability sa ating mga opisyal," Ortega said.

(It is good to see that support for the impeachment trial has a clear majority in Mindanao and across different socioeconomic classes. This means more people are beginning to understand it, and more are now demanding accountability from our officials.)

The OCTA survey’s main finding is that 69 percent of Filipinos nationwide favor a Senate impeachment trial against Vice President Duterte, with 28 percent opposed and 3 percent undecided.

Notably, public support for the impeachment trial reached 61 percent in Mindanao, while opposition there stood at 38 percent and only 1 percent said they were undecided.

For Ortega, that Mindanao figure is more telling since the region has long been seen as the Vice President’s strongest political bases.

“Pati sa Mindanao, kung saan inaasahan ng marami na pinakamalakas ang simpatiya para sa Vice President, majority pa rin ang nagsasabing ituloy ang trial. Para sa akin, ang sinasabi niyan ay handa ang mga tao na pakinggan ang buong katotohanan at hayaang umandar ang proseso,” Ortega said.

(Even in Mindanao, where many expected the strongest sympathy for the Vice President, the majority still say the trial should proceed. For me, that indicates people are ready to hear the whole truth and allow the process to move forward.)

The same OCTA survey also found majority support for the impeachment trial across all socioeconomic groups, with 71 percent support among Class ABC, 72 percent among Class D and 54 percent among Class E.

Ortega said those figures show that the sentiment was not confined to one class or one slice of the electorate.

“Mahalaga rin na majority ang support sa lahat ng socioeconomic classes. Ibig sabihin, hindi ito pananaw ng iisang grupo lang, kundi pananaw na tumatawid sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng lipunan, at para sa akin, mas nagpapatibay iyan sa legitimacy ng proseso,” said the Ilocano.

(It is also important that the majority support comes from all socioeconomic classes. This means it is not just the view of a single group, but a perspective that cuts across different sectors of society, and for me, that further strengthens the legitimacy of the process.)

The poll also showed that public awareness of the impeachment complaints against Duterte remains high at 87 percent nationwide, with awareness in Mindanao even higher at 91 percent.

Ortega says that level of awareness makes the Mindanao result even more significant because it suggests the support is not coming from unfamiliarity with the issue, but from a public that has been paying attention.