254 of 257 districts voted for impeachment

Of the 318 members of the House of Representatives, representing 254 legislative districts and 64 party list representatives, a total of 257 (80.81%) voted in favor of the four Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. Only 25 (7.86%) voted against, and nine (2.83%) abstained. Twenty-seven members (8.5%) of the House were absent. Perhaps they could not stand the heat.

Let us see how the regions and legislative districts voted. The members of the House representing Metro Manila voted Yes overwhelmingly, that includes Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Pasay, Caloocan, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Taguig, San Juan, Pateros, Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Muntinlupa, with the exception of Bong Suntay of Quezon City. This is quite remarkable because the Dutertes are claiming that VP Sara is very strong in the National Capital Region.

Southern Tagalog, Calabarzon, that means Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon also voted in favor of the Articles of Impeachment: The only notable exceptions are Leandro Leviste of the 1st District of Batangas, Kiko Barzaga of Cavite's 4th District, and Ramil Hernandez of Laguna's 2nd District. The Southern Tagalog Region has the highest number of votes in the whole country, even surpassing Metro Manila. The Dutertes are very weak in this region, with the Rectos controlling Batangas and the Remullas on top of Cavite.

Northern Luzon and Central Luzon are solidly in favor of impeachment, with the single exception only of GMA, a close ally of the Dutertes, who was absent and did not participate in the voting and Julius Vergara of the 3rd District of Nueva Ecija that includes the City of Cabanatuan. The Singsons of Ilocos Sur also abstained. We know that Luis Chavit Singson is a supporter of VP Sara but the Singsons did not vote No.

The Western Visayas is a pink region and all the 13 representatives from the whole island of Panay voted yes to impeachment, and that includes: Iloilo, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, and Guimaras. No one voted No. Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental are also for impeachment. Sara is an orphan in the Negros Island Region. All the hacienderos and the political lords and barons in the sugarlandia are in favor of impeachment.

Regions 7 and 8, with all their congressional districts all voted for impeachment. Only three from Cebu: Garcia, Shimura, and Del Mar voted No, together with Tutor of Bohol and Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte. The three provinces of Samar, the province of Leyte and Biliran, all supported the Articles of Impeachment. Even Mindanao broke the heart of the Dutertes; of the 43 congressional districts, only eight voted no. This is a very serious threat to the Duterte Empire.

If these are indications of the popularity of the vice president, then she is facing a very big problem in 2028. However, it can be argued that these House members who are supporting the impeachment do not represent the sentiments of their constituencies. This voting alignment may have also been largely influenced by the House membership that has control over pork barrel and control of the budget allocations and influence on disbursements.

While the whole nation is for impeachment, our dearly beloved representatives Garcia, Shimura, and Del Mar voted no. We need to hasten to qualify that pro-impeachment congressmen are not necessarily anti-Sara. We also need to underscore a caveat that the stand of every congressman or congresswoman does not necessarily represent the political stand of their respective constituencies. The people will judge them in 2028.