Vice President Sara Duterte (center) accompanies her Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez (on stretcher) inside and ambulance (Screenshot from contributed video)

Vice President Sara Duterte left the House of Representatives at 3:01 a.m. Saturday, as she accompanied her chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City for a medical check-up.

This seemingly put an end to Duterte’s unauthorized stay at the House in Batasan, Quezon City, which began at 11:30 p.m. Thursday when she refused to leave the premises despite pleas from Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon Taas for her to do so.

A video acquired by the Manila Bulletin showed Lopez being carried out on a stretcher into a Philippine National Police (PNP) ambulance. 

Vice President Duterte was seen boarding the ambulance shortly, accompanying her aide to the very end.

OVP Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez gets served her transfer order to the Women’s Correctional Facility (Screenshot from contributed video)

A few hours earlier, Legislative Security Bureau (LSB) Executive Director and retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Captain Belinda “Belle” Bello served the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability's order to transfer Lopez from the House detention facility to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City.

Lopez had been under House custody since late Wednesday night Nov. 20, after she was cited for contempt during a hearing by the good government panel. 

Taas would later confim the action taken by the LSB on Lopez.

"The House Committee on Good Government and Publilc Accountabilily, chaired by Rep. Joel R. Chua, has resolved to transfer Atty. Zuleika T. Lopez, Undersecretary and Chief-of-Staff of the Ofice of the Vice President, to the Women's Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City," he said in a press conference shortly after the ambulance left the House.

'Alarming acts of defiance'

He went on to criticize Duterte for "directly obstructing" Lopez's transfer order.

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"The execution of this lawful order was directly obstructed by Vice President Sara Duterte, who took the extraordinary step of introducing herself as Atty. Lopez's legal counsel and physically intervening to prevent the service of the transfer order.

"This act of interference demonstrates a blatant disregard for institutional authority and due process, seting a dangerous precedent for abuse of power," Taas said. 

According to Taas, Duterte "escalated the situation by overstaying her visit and ignoring repeated directives from the Sergeant-at-Arms to leave the premises. She then locked herself inside the office of Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, prompting a lockdown of the entire House premises."

Taas also said Duterte "[compromised] protocols by bringing an excessive and unauthorized armed presence into the complex".

There is a strict no fireeam policy inside the House, something that even congressmen adhere to.

"These alarming acts of defiance by Vice President Duterte severely undermined the authority of the House and disrupted its operations," Taas said.