Manila 6th District Representative Benny Abante expressed confidence that at least one-third of the House—around 105 members—would support the second impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I believe that (the House), out of the one-third vote, will approve the impeachment,” Abante said in a television interview.
He cited the February 2025 proceedings, where 215 lawmakers backed the first impeachment attempt, as a basis for his assurance.
“‘Yung unang-unang impeachment complaint namin… more than (200) ang… bumoto. I don’t think that 250 will vote against impeachment. It only takes 105 of the 311 congressmen… Kaya ‘yan,” he added.
The Supreme Court had previously struck down the 2025 impeachment articles as unconstitutional due to the one-year bar rule. After the period lapsed, critics filed four new complaints, now pending with Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III.
The latest complaints allege culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes, and include new evidence such as an affidavit from alleged “bagman” Ramil Madriaga.
One petition filed Wednesday night by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera was endorsed by Abante and La Union 1st District Representative Paolo Ortega.
Abante emphasized that Duterte would have the opportunity to respond to all allegations.
“Now, the Vice President has all the time in the world to be able to answer all the allegations against her,” he said.