NUP chair: Party has no unified stand on Sara Duterte's impeachment

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

February 26, 2026 | 7:12pm

MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno, who chairs the National Unity Party (NUP), clarified that the party does not have a "uniform party stand" on whether or not they would support Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment. 

In an interview with reporters on Thursday, February 26, Puno said that the initial statement released, in which the party said it would "most likely" not vote for Duterte's impeachment "unless new evidence emerges," only refers to the stance of those he has spoken to. 

"This is not the party's stand. This is just the consensus of the ones I have talked to. We will have another formal meeting," he said.

Puno also said the NUP, which holds the second-largest bloc in Congress, is unlikely to take a unified stance on Duterte's impeachment, adding that "there is just too much division" among its members.

"We are very divided right now, so we ended up with: 'Sige (Okay), let's see what the evidence will show,'" he added. 

As chair, he believes the party will likely accept not having a unified stance, allowing a "conscience vote" where members can vote according to their own judgment or assessment of the impeachment complaints' substance.

"So the tendency now or the direction now is that we probably will have a conscience vote that everybody will be allowed to vote the way he wants to vote," Puno said.

"There is no clear bias or leaning towards either side at this point," he added.

Reporters also asked whether Duterte’s 2028 presidential bid had influenced the party’s stance on the impeachment. Puno denied this, saying, "Absolutely not," and insisted there was no connection, considering the public has long assumed she would eventually run for president.

"So, that has nothing to do with this," he added. "This has to do with fair play. It has to do with the process we are undertaking." 

Puno said the NUP is simply relying on the "many precedents" set in previous impeachment cases and all that has happened over the past two years, citing rulings and possible changes in practices from the Supreme Court and Congress.

This, he said, is why the party is "being very careful," stressing that Congress must eventually provide a "solid basis and clear guidelines" for future impeachment cases.

The NUP released its statement on February 25, less than a week before the House Justice Committee is set to hold hearings on Duterte’s impeachment complaints.