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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Suan: It's fake news to say all Mindanaoans oppose VP Duterte impeachment

Suan: It's fake news to say all Mindanaoans oppose VP Duterte impeachment

Published May 20, 2026 06:23 am

At A Glance

  • Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan calls it fake news to claim all Mindanaoans oppose Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment, stressing that accountability must prevail over regional bias.
  • Suan and fellow impeachment prosecutors highlight fake news and troll attacks as the biggest obstacles in the process, urging netizens to verify sources and distinguish legitimate media outlets from troll accounts.
  • The impeachment case against VP Duterte involves alleged misuse of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds, untruthful asset declarations, unexplained wealth, and threats against national leaders, with the Senate trial expected to begin in June.
Cagayan de Oro 1st district Rep. Lordan Suan (PPAB)
Cagayan de Oro 1st district Rep. Lordan Suan (PPAB)


Cagayan de Oro 1st district Rep. Lordan Suan has categorized as "fake news" the notion on social media that everybody from Mindanao is automatically against the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
This sweeping argument was raised during a press conference with Suan and his fellow impeachment prosecutors on Tuesday, May 19.
When asked by a reporter if Suan wanted to debunk the claim that all Mindanaoans were automatically anti-impeachment, the second-term congressman said: "Kaya nga yung pinakamalaking kalaban natin dito sa buong impeachment process ay yung fake news talaga."
(That's why our biggest enemy here in the entire impeachment process is really fake news.)
"[Because] we are talking about accountability here, and accountability does not respect regional bias," Suan said.
"So dapat yung totoo ang manaig (So the truth must prevail) and hopefully everyone can come together and you know, decide whether what we are sharing is really news or fake news," reckoned the lawyer-solon.
"Yung pinakauna dyan, check natin yung source ng shine-share natin kung troll account ba yan or kung totoong media outlet," he added in an apparent tip to net netizens.
(The very first one there, let’s check the source of the shine-share we posted to see if it’s a troll account or a legitimate media outlet.)
Duterte, a former Davao vice mayor and mayor, considers the country’s southern islands as her political stronghold.
But the Cagayan de Oro lawmaker says that his being a Midnanaoan "is precisely the reason why I take this duty very seriously".
"Because we're not just talking about the people's money, we're also talking about the taxpayers that Mindanaoans are paying," Suan said, apparently alluding to allegations of confidential funds misuse against the Vice President.
"And I believe that no region whether it is Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao, no family, no official should be elevated above the Constitution or even above the investigations of the COA (Commission on Audit)," he noted.
Suan went on to underscore that their job as public prosecutors was solely meant to fulfill a constitutional process, and not a vendetta against anybody.
"And if nothing wrong was done, then the process itself will show it. And I think that's what we owe to every Filipino, including Mindanaoans," he further said.
Fake news, trolls must be stopped
During the same presser, impeachment prosecutor Iloilo 3rd district Rep. Lorenz Defensor said, “One of the biggest challenges that we face is fake news, trolls na mali ang ikinakalat na balita, maling ebidensya ang binabarena sa utak ng ating mga kababayan (trolls who spread wrong news and who instill wrong evidence imto the minds of our countrymen)."
Defensor said fake news and trolls must be stopped, or else the truth will never be reached.
"Hindi lang sa impeachment na ito but truth in every day living kung hindi natin ma-overcome ang fake news at mga trolls na umaatake, hindi lang sa House of Representatives but to truth itself,” he stressed.
(Not only in this impeachment but in truth in everyday living—if we cannot overcome fake news and trolls attacking, it is not only the House of Representatives that is under assault but truth itself.)
Vice President Duterte's conviction via Senate impeachment trial is being sought over her offices' alleged misuse of P612.5 million worth of confidential funds; untruthful declarations in the filing of her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth; unexplained wealth; and death threats to President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez.
The impeachment trial is expected to begin in June.
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