MANILA — A standoff ensued on Friday night after a House committee’s order to transfer Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief-of-staff, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, to a prison in Mandaluyong City, resulting in Lopez falling ill and being taken to the hospital.
In a briefing on Saturday, House Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon Taas revealed that security personnel attempted to enforce a resolution by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability to move Lopez from the House detention center to the Correctional Institute for Women.
“However, the execution of this lawful order was directly obstructed by Vice President Sara Duterte, who introduced herself as legal counsel and physically intervened to prevent the transfer,” Taas said.
Taas, a retired police officer, condemned Duterte’s actions as a “blatant disregard for institutional authority and due process.”
The committee has been investigating how the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), which Duterte headed until July, used confidential funds from previous national budgets.
Lopez had been cited for contempt for “undue interference” in the committee’s proceedings. Duterte visited Lopez at the House on Thursday night after regular visiting hours and was allowed in as a courtesy.
Taas, however, accused Duterte of escalating the situation by overstaying her visit and disregarding repeated instructions from the Sergeant-at-Arms to leave.
The Vice President’s presence led to a lockdown of the Batasan Pambansa complex. The House Majority denounced Duterte’s actions as disrespectful to the institution and a breach of security protocols.
Duterte has been staying at the office of her brother, Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte, stating that she wanted to remain close to Lopez.