By CESAR JOLITO III
Twelve lawmakers from the Negros Island Region (NIR) were among the 257 members of the House of Representatives who voted in favor of the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte after the chamber approved the justice committee report finding probable cause in the complaints filed against her.
The House approved the impeachment complaint on Monday, May 11, exceeding the required one-third vote of the chamber.
Under the Constitution, only 106 out of the 318 House members are needed to approve the articles of impeachment and transmit the case to the Senate for trial.
The NIR lawmakers who voted for the impeachment include Negros Occidental Representatives Julio Ledesma IV (1st district), Alfredo Marañon III (2nd district), Javier Miguel Benitez (3rd district), Jeffrey Ferrer (4th district), Emilio Bernardino Yulo (5th district), Mercedes Alvarez (6th district); Abang Lingkod Party-list Representative Manuel Frederick Ko; and Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
Also voting in favor of the impeachment were Negros Oriental Representatives Emmanuel Iway (1st district), Maria Isabel Sagarbarria (2nd district) and Janice Degamo (3rd district), along with Siquijor Representative Zaldy Villa.
A total of 25 lawmakers voted against the impeachment, while nine abstained.
Prior to the voting, Benitez, who also heads the Visayan bloc in the Lower House, said around 200 lawmakers were expected to support the impeachment complaint once it reached the plenary.
He added that consultations with fellow legislators showed strong backing for the measure, particularly from lawmakers in the Visayas and NIR.
“In all likelihood, the vice president will be impeached based on the evidence presented,” Benitez earlier said, referring to discussions among lawmakers and developments during hearings conducted by the House committee on justice.
Benitez also earlier predicted that all lawmakers from the Negros Island Region would vote in favor of the impeachment complaint against Duterte./CJ, WDJ