Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre 鈥擯hoto from his Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines听鈥� The impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte does not appear to be a liability to House of Representatives members as 100 of 115 district lawmakers got reelected during the 2025 midterm polls, Tingog party-list Rep. Jude Acidre said on Friday.
Acidre in a statement said that data on how many lawmakers supportive of Duterte鈥檚 impeachment got fresh mandates dispute beliefs that the impeachment was a deciding factor in why some candidates failed to win.
These remarks from Acidre were in response to recent statements from Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco 鈥� that some of the Alyansa senatorial bets who failed to win were affected by a backlash from the impeachment.
鈥淛ust to set the record straight, these results dismantle the narrative that the impeachment was a political liability.听 What we鈥檙e seeing is a public that values courage over complicity. The people have drawn the line鈥攁nd they stood with us,鈥� Acidre said.
鈥淲ith due respect to Rep. Tiangco, the numbers simply do not support that claim,鈥� Acidre added. 鈥淭he defeat of a few candidates cannot be pinned on a constitutional process that the people clearly understood鈥攁nd endorsed.鈥�
Acidre also pointed out that in Mindanao 鈥� long considered to be the bailiwick of the Dutertes who hail from Davao City 鈥� 36 out 44 district lawmakers who signed the impeachment got reelected, or a success rate of 81 percent.
Furthermore, Acidre believes that it was through House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez鈥檚 leadership that the House was able to calmly navigate through 鈥渙ne of the most politically-charged periods鈥� in the country.
鈥淭he House acted as it should鈥攁s an independent, co-equal branch committed to the rule of law. Speaker Romualdez provided steady leadership throughout. If anything, the results show that his brand of principled politics resonates across the nation,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his is no time for finger-pointing. We were elected not to protect careers, but to uphold our duty. The people have spoken. And they have spoken in favor of accountability,鈥� he added.
Acidre is not the first lawmaker to address Tiangco鈥檚 statements though.听 Earlier, Deputy Speaker David Suarez said that while he respects Tiangco鈥檚 opinion, most of the pro-impeachment lawmakers won during the recent elections.
鈥淲ell, I do respect the opinion of Toby Tiangco regarding the matter, although I do not subscribe to it, but听of course maybe as a campaign manager he sees the terrain better, maybe he understands it better,鈥� Suarez said.
鈥淚f we will look at the winning rate of the congressmen who signed the impeachment, I think that was at 86 percent.听 So, they should be the ones feeling the effects if ever,鈥� he added.
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Despite officially having six bets in the Magic 12 for the 2025 senatorial race, many observers and pundits believe that the听Alyansa听underperformed, as pre-election surveys showed that either eight or nine of the slate鈥檚 candidates will win.
Days before the elections, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo was the front-runner, holding the top spot with 45 percent of the respondents鈥� votes.听听The final and official tally from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) shows that he is at the fourth spot.
Senator Bong Go of the Duterte-backed Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) is at the top of the Magic 12, but the surveys predicted a tie at the top between Go and Tulfo.听 However, Tulfo according to the final tally is behind former Senator Bam Aquino who was not even part of surveys鈥� winning circle, and another PDP stalwart in Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
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Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III meanwhile was poised to be ranked third, but instead, partial and unofficial tallies see him slipping down to eighth.
Senator Lito Lapid was fourth, and now he is 11th, while Makati Mayor Abby Binay and Senator Ramon 鈥淏ong鈥� Revilla 鈥� who were holding the seventh and 11th spots in the SWS survey 鈥� are currently out of the Magic 12, ranking 15th and 14th instead.
Despite these Tiangco said the Alyansa still considers the results of the 2025 senatorial race as a vote of confidence for the administration as most of their candidates are poised to win Senate seats.
In the House, some of the lawmakers critical of the Dutertes lost in their respective 2025 election bids 鈥� like Majority Floor Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe who was defeated by Duterte-endorsed Zamboanga City 1st District Rep. Kmyher Olaso for the mayoralty race, and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. who lost to candidate Joey Uy.
But Comelec鈥檚 partial results also show that some individuals directly linked to the investigation of Duterte鈥檚 alleged misuse of confidential funds (CF), along with members of the impeachment prosecution panel, emerged victorious.
For example, House committee on good government and public accountability and chairperson and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, made a successful reelection bid, defeating Aksyon Demokratiko鈥檚 Apple Nieto.听听Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano, who filed the resolution asking for an investigation of the CF irregularities, was also victorious.
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Vice President Duterte criticized both Chua and Valeriano during different local campaign sorties, while endorsing their opponents.听 Chua鈥檚 committee probed the CF issue, while it was Valeriano who filed the resolution calling for an investigation.