In a sweeping House vote held on Sunday, May 11, 2026, the Philippine House of Representatives approved the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte by an overwhelming margin — and all three congressional representatives from Negros Oriental stood firmly in the majority, each casting a YES vote in what analysts are already calling one of the most consequential legislative actions in modern Philippine history.
The final tally across the 291-member chamber reached 257 votes in favor of impeachment, 25 against, and 9 abstentions — a result that cleared well beyond the constitutional one-third threshold needed to transmit the complaint to the Senate of the Philippines for trial.
Negros Oriental Delegation Unified in Support
The three lawmakers representing Negros Oriental’s congressional districts — Emmanuel Iway of the 1st District, Ma. Isabel Sagarbarria of the 2nd District, and Janice Degamo of the 3rd District — each registered affirmative votes, placing the province solidly in the pro-impeachment column. The vote tallies were drawn from official House records following the plenary session, as reported by Digicast Negros.
Their collective stance reflects a broader pattern across the entire Negros Island Region, which delivered a unanimous showing in support of the impeachment. Every legislative district within the region — spanning Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Siquijor — produced a YES vote without exception.
The Entire Negros Island Region Votes as One
From Negros Occidental, eight representatives all voted in favor: Julio Ledesma (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), Alfredo Abelardo Benitez of Bacolod City, and Manuel Fredrick Ko of the Abang Lingkod Party-list.
Siquijor’s lone district representative, Zaldy Villa, likewise voted YES, rounding out a complete sweep of affirmative votes from all legislative seats within the Negros Island Region.
What the Impeachment Complaint Covers
The articles of impeachment filed against Vice President Sara Duterte — the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte — enumerate a serious list of charges. As reported by Digicast Negros based on the formal complaint, the grounds include betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption and unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential funds, and bribery.
The complaint also incorporates allegations that Duterte made explicit threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez — charges that drew widespread condemnation and contributed significantly to the momentum behind the impeachment drive in the weeks leading up to the May 11 vote.
House leadership certified the complaint and gathered the necessary signatures to bring it to a full plenary deliberation, setting the stage for the decisive session that took place last Sunday.
Who Voted No — and Who Abstained
Among the 25 representatives who voted against the impeachment, several came from political strongholds closely identified with the Duterte family. Paolo Duterte of Davao City’s 1st District, Omar Vincent Duterte of Davao Occidental’s 2nd District, and Isidro Ungab of Davao City’s 3rd District all registered NO votes. Also voting against were Rachel Marguerite Del Mar of Cebu City’s 1st District, Sun Shimura of Cebu’s 4th District, Karen Hope Garcia of Cebu’s 3rd District, Maria Vanessa Aumentado of Bohol’s 2nd District, and Alexie Tutor of Bohol’s 3rd District.
Further NO votes came from Kiko Barzaga of Cavite’s 4th District, Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles of General Santos’ Lone District, Alfelito Bascug of Agusan del Sur’s 1st District, Dale Corvera of Agusan del Norte’s Lone District, Leandro Legarda Leviste of Batangas’ 1st District, Paolo Henry Marcoleta of SAGIP Party-list, Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte’s 1st District, Robert Nazal of Bagong Henerasyon Party-list, Girlie Veloso of Malasakit at Bayanihan Party-list, Julius Cesar Vergara of Nueva Ecija’s 3rd District, and Jesus Suntay of Quezon City’s 4th District.
Among the nine who abstained, two confirmed names are Edgar Erice of Caloocan’s 2nd District and Audrey Zubiri of Bukidnon’s 3rd District.
The Case Now Moves to the Senate
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Senate is constitutionally required to convene as an impeachment court upon receipt of the transmitted articles from the House. All 24 senators will serve as both judge and jury during the trial proceedings.
Removing Duterte from office requires a two-thirds supermajority — a minimum of 16 senators — to vote for conviction. Should that threshold be met, the Vice President would be ousted from her post and permanently disqualified from holding any public office in the Philippines. As of May 12, 2026, the Senate has not yet announced a formal timeline for the trial.
Background: How Marcos and Duterte Fell Out
Sara Duterte won the Vice Presidency in the 2022 national elections by a landslide, running alongside President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. under a political tandem that commanded enormous public support at the time. However, the alliance between the two camps began visibly unraveling through 2023 and into 2024, culminating in Duterte’s resignation from the Cabinet and an increasingly open confrontation between her political bloc and the Marcos administration.
The House vote on May 11 represents the most formal and definitive institutional rupture yet in that political falling-out. The allegations of threats against Marcos, the First Lady, and Romualdez have elevated the case beyond ordinary political rivalry, drawing sustained national and international scrutiny as the Philippines navigates one of its most turbulent periods of governance in recent decades.
Negros Oriental’s Three Representatives Now on Record
With their affirmative votes formally logged in the House records, Iway, Sagarbarria, and Degamo are now part of the historic 257-strong majority that sent the impeachment complaint against a sitting Vice President to the Senate for trial. The outcome of that Senate proceeding will determine whether Sara Duterte becomes the first Vice President in Philippine history to be removed from office through the constitutional impeachment process.
Digicast Negros, which first published the breakdown of the Negros Oriental delegation’s votes, sourced its report from official records released by the House of Representatives following the session.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Cong. Janice Degamo/Facebook
