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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider OVP no comment on detention of chief of staff, but Sara sympathizes with aide at House probe

OVP no comment on detention of chief of staff, but Sara sympathizes with aide at House probe

Published Nov 21, 2024 01:07 am

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) refused to comment on the detention of its chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, at the House of Representatives after she was cited in contempt for “undue interference” in a House panel’s inquiry into the OVP’s use of confidential funds.
 

Sara_Zuleika.jpg(From left) Vice President Sara Duterte and OVP Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez (Screenshot from OVP, House of Representatives)

 

“Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez requested that no statement be issued regarding her detention,” the OVP said in a statement on Wednesday night, Nov. 20.
 

The statement made no mention of Vice President Sara Duterte’s earlier promise to join her personnel if any of them were cited in contempt and put in detention because of what she described as political attacks launched against her by administration lawmakers.
 

But in an interview at the OVP Caraga Satellite Office in Butuan City before Lopez was cited in contempt, Duterte expressed sympathies to what her personnel have been going through under the House hearing.
 

“Actually, ang mga kasamahan ko sa Office of the Vice President kung makikita mo nakakaawa talaga. Nadadamay sila sa pag-persecute sa akin, nadadamay ang kanilang trabaho, nadadamay ang kanilang pangalan (my personnel at the Office of the Vice President are really pitiful. They are being dragged in my persecution, their work and names are being dragged),” she said in Bisaya.
 

“Naaawa ako dahil, as I said, politiko ako at iyang mga politiko sisirain talaga nila ang iyong pangalan because there’s a race. Para makalamang sila sa kalaban, sisirain talaga nila ang kanilang kakumpetensiya sa politika (I pity them, as I said, I’m a politician and those in politics will malign your name because there’s a race. To get ahead of their competitor, they will really destroy their competitor in politics),” she added.
 

Duterte lamented that her OVP officers are used to simply being public servants, which was why there was a “delineation” in her office owing to a “standing order” from her that she will take care of the politics side while her employees stick to serving the public.
 

“So, iyan ang aking biggest challenge ngayon, lagi kong iniisip kung paano ako makatulong sa kanila ay palagi kong naiisip na naaawa ako sa kanila dahil nasira ang kanilang pangalan, ang kanilang reputasyon (So, that’s my biggest challenge now, I always think how I can help them because I pity them for having their names and reputations besmirched),” Duterte said.
 

“Hindi basta-basta kasi ‘yan dahil ang tao kung wala kang kayamanan, wala kang ibang treasure kundi ang iyong pagkatao, ang iyong pangalan (That’s important because a person if without riches, your only treasure is your character, your name),” she added.
 

Lopez, a lawyer, will be detained at the House of Representatives until Nov. 25.
 

The OVP official was cited in contempt and ordered to be placed in detention during her first appearance at the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability's 6th hearing on the OVP’s alleged confidential funds misuse.
 

The contempt citation came after nearly 10 hours of grilling by lawmakers, and was first made by House Deputy Minority Leader ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, a staunch critic of Lopez’s boss.
 

The motion to cite her in contempt as well as to detain her was carried by the panel’s chair, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, after hearing no objections from the committee members present during the hearing.
 

Castro’s motion was triggered by Lopez’s letter to the Commission on Audit (COA) dated Aug. 21, 2024, wherein she asked the state auditors not to comply to the House’s demand to get the documents pertaining to the OVP’s P125-million confidential funds that were utilized in just 11 days last December 2022. 
 

The committee has been holding hearings to look into Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds. This covered the funds she handled at the OVP and her time as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary from 2022 to 2024.
 

Related Tags

OVP Confidential funds Sara Duterte Zuleika Lopez
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