FACT CHECK: Senator Migz Zubiri’s father Joe did not vote against Sara Duterte impeachment

Claim: Former Bukidnon 3rd District Representative Jose Maria “Joe” Zubiri Jr. voted against the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Various posts making this claim have circulated on Facebook, with the most popular post from the page “Damulognon TV” garnering 6,300 reactions, 275 shares, and 1,800 comments as of writing. Identical posts have also been published by Facebook users through their personal accounts.

The posts use the same caption to claim that the father — who once served as Bukidnon governor and later congressman — is more principled than his son, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, because of their differing political stances.

“The father: Cong. Jose Maria Zubiri, Jr. the legendary leader of Bukidnon, Mindanao, Philippines, voted against the impeachment of Vice Pres. Sara Zimmerman Duterte. The son: Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri opted to align himself with the camp of Sen. Vicente Sotto III, whose membership is perceived to be lap dogs of Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez,” the caption says.

A photo of the older Zubiri is attached to the posts. Comments on the posts show that users believe the claim to be true, criticizing Senator Zubiri.

The facts: The former congressman no longer holds office, since he did not run in the 2025 national elections. This means he did not participate in the House of Representative’s second impeachment vote in 2026, as the false posts imply.

When it comes to the first impeachment in 2025, it is true that the older Zubiri did not sign that first complaint. But there was no plenary vote in the House before the complaint was transmitted to the Senate, so the posts’ claim is still inaccurate.

Since then, no posts from former congressman Zubiri’s social media or media reports have been published about his stance on the Vice President’s impeachment.

The Zubiris: The false posts began circulating amid heightened tensions in the Senate. After a coup installed Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president on May 11, rumors of another coup have been circulating as senators struggle for control of the upper house ahead of the Vice President’s impeachment trial in July.

Days after the younger Zubiri had abstained from voting for the Senate presidency, he joined the minority floor on May 18. This made the split between the majority and minority floors into a slim 13-11, if Senator Bato dela Rosa — who is now a “fugitive from justice” running from an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, according to the Department of Justice — is to be counted as part of the majority.

Audrey Tan Zubiri, who is Senator Zubiri’s wife and successor to the older Zubiri’s congressional seat, had also abstained from the House’s vote on Duterte’s second impeachment.

Debunked: Rappler has debunked other false claims on Duterte’s impeachment:

• FACT CHECK: World Bank did not testify in House impeachment hearings vs VP Sara
• FACT CHECK: No SC order blocking 2026 impeachment proceedings vs Duterte
• FACT CHECK: De Lima not ‘caught’ giving Madriaga scripted statements vs VP Sara
• FACT CHECK: Contrary to claim, Sotto says Senate is ‘ready’ to act on VP Sara impeachment
• FACT CHECK: SC did not disbar Batangas representative Gerville Luistro     

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

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