“Solid South” no more: only 8 of 61 Mindanao district reps voted against VP Sara’s impeachment
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 13 May 2026) – Only eight of Mindanao’s 61 congressional district representatives voted against the impeachment of fellow Mindanawon, Vice President Sara Duterte, on Monday, indicating that the much-touted “Solid South” or “Solid Mindanao” is now a “political myth.”
“The notion of a ‘Solid Mindanao’ may now be considered as a political myth,” former Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate told MindaNews, adding the collapse of regional bloc voting shows a massive erosion of the family’s political capital, strips the Vice President of her perceived shield and undermines her bid in the 2028 presidential elections.
The ”Solid South” was a major factor that helped Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte win the Presidency in 2016 and Mayor Sara Duterte win the Vice Presidency in 2022. It also made candidates of the former President’s party, PDP-Laban, win Senate seats in 2019 and 2025.
Duterte, who relies on Mindanao as her political base, declared in February that she would run for President in 2028, a move made public 27 months before the elections.
According to the final result tallied by the House Plenary Secretariat, out of 318 members, the House of Representatives voted 257 for impeachment, 25 against and nine abstained. Only 106 votes are needed to meet the constitutional requirement of 1/3 to impeach an official.
Of 61 Mindanawon district representatives in the House, 41 voted to impeach Duterte, eight voted no, seven did not participate (DNP), four abstained while one was the Presiding Officer.
DNP refers to those who were absent or those who were present based on the attendance sheet but did not enter the plenary during the voting.
Of 28 provinces in Mindanao, 19 voted for impeachment, one voted no (Agusan del Norte), two abstained (Maguindanao del Norte and Sarangani), three did not participate (Agusan del Sur, Basilan, Davao Occidental), three had mixed votes: Bukdinon (2 abstained, 1 no, 1 DNP), Davao Oriental (1 no, 1 DNP), and South Cotabato (2 yes, 1 no).
The 19 provinces where all their district representatives went for impeachment are Camiguin, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay
Mindanao has 33 cities but only six have district representatives: Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos, Iligan, and Zamboanga.
Three of the cities voted to impeach (Butuan, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan); two voted against (Davao and General Santos), while Zamboanga had a mixed vote (1yes, 1 DNP)
Zarate said the widespread defection “may suggest that local politicos, traditionally driven by patronage and survival, have recalculated their loyalties, apparently concluding that the Duterte brand is no longer an asset worth the risk of defying the current administration,” he said.
“By failing to secure even a symbolic show of force from her home base, Duterte is revealed as politically vulnerable, prompting a realignment of power toward other power blocs,” he added.
In the House of Representatives, there are at least six party-list representatives who are Mindanawons or affiliated with Mindanao: four of them voted to impeach (Abamin’s Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. of Cagayan de Oro, Asenso Pinoy’s Henry Oaminal Jr. of Misamis Occidental, Kusug Tausug’s Aiman T. Tan of Sulu and TUCP’s Raymond Democrito Mendoza who is married to North Cotabato Governor Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza. Dumper-PTDA’s Claudine Diana Bautista-Lim of Davao Occidental did not participate while Harold James Duterte, a relative of the Dutertes and representative of the Davao City-organized PPP, voted No.
Davao region
In the five-province Davao region, three voted for impeachment: Davao De Oro, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur. Davao Occidental’s representative did not participate, while Davao Oriental had a mixed voting (one voted ‘no’ while the other did not participate).
All three Davao City representatives voted against her impeachment: Sara’s brother, Paolo of the 1st district, Paolo’s son and Sara’s nephew, Omar of the 2nd district, and long-time Duterte ally Isidro Ungab of the 3rd district.
General Santos City’s lone district Rep. Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles said her vote is “rooted in a simple belief” that the country “needs healing more than it needs conflict. We need the strength of unity, not the bitterness of division.”
“It is rooted for respect for your voice. Nearly 32 million Filipinos placed their faith in the Vice President. I believe that a mandate that massive deserves to be respected unless there is absolute certainty to move otherwise,” she said.
She said her No vote is “for what I believe is right for the stability of our country.” Bañas-Nograles did not address the issue of accountability.
In explaining his vote, Corvera said the lone district of Agusan del Norte is “overwhelmingly not in favor against impeachment.”
“Dala ko ang boses ng taga Agusan del Norte” (I carry the voice of Agusan del Norte), he said, adding, this is the “expression of the will of the people of my province.”
Political dynasties, political survival
Most of the 19 provinces whose district representatives all voted to impeach the Vice President, are run by political dynasties who helped the Dutertes win in national elections from 2016 to 2025.
Zarate noted that for the Duterte political dynasty, “the shift from inherited regional loyalty to a fragmented battle for individual alliances means their political survival may no longer be guaranteed, as these Mindanawon politicians who supported her second impeachment signal their openness to new national coalitions.”
For Prof. Hadji Balajadia of the Ateneo de Davao University, the Marcos administration’s “familiar tactics of political maneuvering and arm‑twisting seem to have secured support even from Mindanawon representatives.”
But Balajadia said beneath that surface is a deeper current, “a palpable desire among the Mindanawon ruling class to see the evidence tested in a Senate impeachment trial, a sentiment reflected in national surveys.”
“We saw an interplay of these forces. Certainly there was pressure from above and the personal appreciation of evidences of the ruling political class which shaped the voting pattern. Whether or not their votes reflected the precise sentiment of their district’s constituents is a different story altogether,” she said.
For Balajadia, the voting was not just arithmetic. “It was a confluence of political influence, personal conviction of individual Congressman, and of course political survival.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
HOW YOUR MINDANAO REPRESENTATIVES VOTED
Impeachment Vote, 11 May 2026
Source: Final Result tallied by the House Plenary Secretariat
(Note: MindaNews listed the representatives’ political party affiliations based on the certificates of candidacy for the 2025 elections)
| PROVINCE | REPRESENTATIVE | VOTE |
| AGUSAN DEL NORTE | CORVERA, Dale (Lakas-CMD) | No |
| AGUSAN DEL SUR | 1- BASCUG, Alex (NUP) | DNP |
| 2- PLAZA, Adolph Edward G. (NUP} | DNP | |
| BASILAN | ALANO, Yusop Tanduh (PFP) | DNP |
| BUKIDNON | 1-ALBA, Jose Manuel Falqueza (Lakas-CMD) | DNP |
| 2- FLORES, Jonathan Keith Tello (Lakas-CMD) | Abstain | |
| 3- ZUBIRI, Audrey Kay Tan (PFP) | Abstain | |
| 4- ROQUE, Laarni Lavin (NP) | No | |
| CAMIGUIN | ROMUALDO, Jurdin Jesus Modina (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| DAVAO DE ORO | 1-ZAMORA, Maria Carmen Solamillo (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- CENIZA, Leonel Domo-Ong (Ind) | Yes | |
| DAVAO DEL NORTE | 1-UY, De Carlo Lim (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- LAGDAMEO, Jose Manuel Floirendo (PFP) | Yes | |
| DAVAO DEL SUR | CAGAS, John Tracy (NP) | Yes |
| DAVAO OCCIDENTAL | BAUTISTA, Claude (NPC) | DNP |
| DAVAO ORIENTAL | 1-DAYANGHIRANG, Nelson Jr. Restor (Lakas-CMD) | No |
| 2- ALMARIO, Cheeno Miguel (Lakas-CMD) | DNP | |
| DINAGAT ISLANDS | BAG-AO, Arlene Javellana (LP) | Yes |
| LANAO DEL NORTE | 1- DIMAPORO, Imelda Quibranza (PFP) | Yes |
| 2- DIMAPORO, Aminah Q. (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| LANAO DEL SUR | 1-ADIONG, Ziaur-Rahman Alonto (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- BALINDONG, Yasser Alonto (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| MAGUINDANAO DEL NORTE | MASTURA, Sittie Shahara ibrahim (Lakas-CMD) | Abstain |
| MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR | MANGUDADATU, Esmael Gaguil (PFP) | Yes |
| MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL | 1- ALMONTE, Jason Paredes (NP) | Yes |
| 2- OAMINAl, Sancho Fernando | Yes | |
| MISAMIS ORIENTAL | 1-LAGBAS. Jennifer Artadi (NUP) | Yes |
| 2- EMANO, Yevgeny Vincente Beja (NP) | Yes | |
| NORTH COTABATO | 1-CRUZADO, Edwin Ledesma (PMP) | Yes |
| 2- CAOAGDAN, Rudy Santos (NP) | Yes | |
| 3- SANTOS, Ma. Alana Samantha Talino (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| SARANGANI | SOLON, Steve Chiongbian (Lakas-CMD) | Abstain |
| SOUTH COTABATO | 1-LUMAYAG, Isidro Dabandan (PFP) | No |
| 2- HERNANDEZ, Ferdinand Ledesma (PFP) | Presiding | |
| 3- TUAN, Dibu Sno (Aksyon Demokratiko) | Yes | |
| SULTAN KUDARAT | 1- SAKALURAN, Ruth Mangudadatu (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- SUANSING, Bella Vanessa Bito-On (PFP) | Yes | |
| SULU | 1-TAN, Samier Abubakar (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- ARBISON, Munir Mundoc (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| SURIGAO DEL NORTE | 1-MATUGAS, Francisco Tinio (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- BARBERS, Bernadette Sison (NP) | Yes | |
| SURIGAO DEL SUR | 1- MOMO, Romeo Salazar (NP) | Yes |
| 2- PIMENTEL, Alexander Ty (PFP) | Yes | |
| TAWI-TAWI | SALI, Dimszar Matba (NUP) | Yes |
| ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE | 1-UY, Roberto Jr. Tan (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- LABADLABAD, Irene Gollayan (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| 3- AMATONG, Adrian Michael Alto (LP) | Yes | |
| ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR | 1- YU, Joseph Kim Cabardo (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2-YU, Jeyzel Victoria Cabardo (Lakas-CMD) | Yes | |
| ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY | 1- BANCORO, Marlo Cantancio (PFP) | Yes |
| 2- HOFER-HASIM, Anna Marlesa (PFP) | Yes |
| CITY | REPRESENTATIVE | VOTE |
| BUTUAN | AQUINO, Jose II Sabuon (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| CAGAYAN DE ORO | 1- SUAN, Lordan Gualberto (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| 2- RODRIGUEZ, Rufus Bautista (Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines) | Yes | |
| DAVAO | 1-DUTERTE, Paolo | No |
| 2-DUTERTE, Omar | No | |
| 3-UNGAB, Isidro | No | |
| GENERAL SANTOS | BANAS-NOGRALES, Shirlyn Legario (PDP-Laban) | No |
| ILIGAN | REGENCIA, Celso Gomera (Lakas-CMD) | Yes |
| ZAMBOANGA | 1- CHUA-TAI, Katrina Reiko (Ind) | Yes |
| 2- PEREZ, Jerry Evangelista (Adelante Zamboanga Party) | DNP | |
| PARTY LIST | REPRESENTATIVE (Mindanawons or Mindnao-affiliated) | |
| ABAMIN | RODRIGUEZ, Maximo Jr. B. | Yes |
| ASENSO PINOY | OAMINAL, Henry Jr. | Yes |
| DUMPER-PTDA | BAUTISTA-LIM, Claudine Diana D. | DNP |
| KUSUG-TAUSUG | TAN, Aiman T. | Yes |
| PPP | DUTERTE, Harold James | No |
| TUCP | MENDOZA, Raymond Democrito | Yes |
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