President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads the meeting de avance of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial candidates in Mandaluyong City on May 9, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — The campaign manager of the administration's Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas believes the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte — a development he blamed on House leadership — cost it the midterm elections.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco pointed out that surveys after Duterte's impeachment showed candidates losing ground in Bisaya-speaking areas where they had previously performed well. He said that surveys in October 2024 showed 10 Alyansa candidates doing well in Mindanao, known as a bailiwick of the Duterte clan.

After the House impeached Duterte in February, surveys showed only four Alyansa bets doing well in Mindanao.

Tiangco said they had to recalibrate their campaign by avoiding campaigning in Mindanao as a slate.

"Because why will we go to Mindanao, spend resources, spend time? Hindi na namin makumbinsi yung tao doon. So punta na lang kami doon sa lugar na may makumbinsi kami (We will just go to areas where there were people we could still convince)," he said. He said administration candidates who campaigned in Mindanao did so as individuals and not as Alyansa bets.

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House Deputy Speaker David Suarez of Quezon said he respects Tiangco's comments, but pointed out that many congressmen who signed the impeachment won their elections.

"I  do respect the opinions of Toby Tiangco regarding the matter. Although I do not subscribe to it, but syempre bilang isang campaign manager siguro, nakikita niya yung terrain, mas nauunawaan niya ‘yun. Siguro I’ll just leave it at that. I do respect his opinion regarding that"

"Unang una, kung titingnan po natin yung winning rate ng mga congressmen na pumirma sa impeachment, I think that was at 86%. So sila po talaga yung dapat makaramdam kung mayroon man. "

House Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor of Iloilo had a different take.

"That's possible… We cannot disregard the influence of the Dutertes in Mindanao. ... Maybe it's not a matter of negatively affecting the candidates of the Alyansa, but it strengthened the chances of the pro-Duterte senatorial candidates. We can look at it that way."

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Tiangco claimed Duterte was impeached to justify the release of funds to lawmakers after parts of the 2025 budget were vetoed by the President.

Tiangco indicated that the timing of the impeachment made little political sense so it really came about because of budgetary pressure.

"Sila mismo nagsasabi, yung mga pumIrma, pag nagpaliwanag sila, bakit kami pumirma? Kasi iipitin po yung pondo namin. Yung mga hindi pumirma, anong sabihin la, inipit kami. So how can there be a clamor when there was pressure?"

Tiangco said there was no clamor for impeachment and that it did not make sense for a politician to want to have enemies, especially Vice President Duterte,
entering an election."

"Number Two, lahat naman ng politiko ay humihingi ng suporta sa Iglesia ni Cristo," he said, referring to the religious group known for making political endorsements. 

Iglesia ni Cristo held a rally against Duterte's impeachment and later took a position against former President Rodrigo Duterte's trial at the International Criminal Court on a crime against humanity case related to his war on drugs.

Tiangco added President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had also taken a position against impeachment early on.

Tiangco blamed the House leadership for forcing the impeachment.

"Ay sino ba pwede magpilit? Alanganan, pwede ba itong mangyari ng hindi alam ng leadership ng House?"

"Yung leadership, sila-sila nanahan dyan. Wala nga kasi ako doon nung pinag-usapan. Hindi na nila ako sinama. Because they know from the very start, hindi talaga ko pabor sa impeachment."

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Suarez belied claims that the impeachment came with funds attached.

"There is no truth to that allegation. There is no truth to that matter. No one was coerced. No one was asked to sign. Everybody signed the impeachment based on their own volition."

Tiangco said he discussed this with Marcos, Jr.

"Ang sinabi ko lang, noong the day of the nagpipirmahan, sinabi ko lang sa kanya na hindi dapat pirmahan. Sabi naman niya talaga, hindi naman talaga dapat matuloy. Sabi ko kasi, huwag before elections, pag-isipan mabuti. Because aside from the political consequences, there are other, many other consequences. Political is just one of the consequences, diba? You know, we've got ilang impeachment proceedings na," diba? Madugo yan eh, diba? It's very divisive. Tapos, sasabay sa eleksyon, diba? So, napag-usapan na lang namin yan later on when I was reporting to him na pinipressure ako i-release yung mga conditional release kasi ipinangako daw. Sabi niya, walang pangakong ganyan. That's why, until now, naka-hold talaga yung mga doubtful, yung mga projects na hindi natin sigurado. So, ngayon, may pressure na naman na gusto nila ma-release yung mga conditional release na yun.

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Tiangco added things got worse for them when the government surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court.

"Yes, after the Hague talagang na-problema na tayo. Talagang naubos na yun. But what I'm saying is, yung impeachment kasi was beyond our control. Pwede namang hindi impeach nun. Tsaka it was a useless exercise. Kasi yun naman yung sinabi ko sa kanila kahit pirmahan nyo ngayon, Feb 5. Ganoon din, June 2 pa rin yan, itatackle ng Senate. So ano nangyari doon? Diba nagkaroon ng backlash naman talaga.

"Yung Hague, there are external factors beyond our control. So it is not an apples to apples comparison. Ang pag-usapan natin dito, yung totally within our control. Yung impeachment. Kung hindi natin ginawa yun, hindi ganitong kasama. Tsaka nagkaroon ng parang pattern. Isipin mo, una, in-impeach. Tapos pinadala sa Hague. So parang pinagplaplanuhan mo, diba? But kung wala yung impeachment, baka iba yung pananaw ng tao. Baka sabihin nila, ah, sumunod lang talaga sa batas. Pero yung impeachment, iba ang tingin ng tao doon."

Tiangco says it is now up to House members of the 20th Congress if they will want the way things are ran in the House to continue.