Former senator Leila de Lima (left), OVP Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez (Facebook, PPAB)

Former senator Leila de Lima took a swipe at Office of the Vice President (OVP) Chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez over her alleged dramatics in connection with her detention order from the House of Representatives. 

De Lima--who was slapped with drug charges and incarcerated during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte---described Lopez's behavior as out-of-line. 

"Atty. Zuleika Lopez, Chief of Staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, was detained for just 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. They jailed me for nearly seven years—𝟐,𝟒𝟓𝟒 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 to be exact. Did you ever see me act like this?" De Lima wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday, Nov. 26. 

She shared a collage to display the disparity in their demeanor. One photo showed a tearful Lopez desperately clasping her boss, Vice President Duterte, as law enforcers tried to carry out a House order to transfer her to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City over the weekend. 

In the other photo, De Lima stoically stares down the police officer who arrested her all those years ago. 

"Such behavior, especially from someone in a position of authority, disrupts the proper functioning of our institutions and weakens trust in the system," De Lima, an aspiring congresswoman, said of Lopez. 

(Leila de Lima's Facebook)
 

"Isang kawalan ng respeto sa mga kinakailangang proseso ng pananagutan. Kailangan pa talaga haluan ng drama," added ML Party-list noninee, the vitriol in her words apparent. 

(This is a lack of respect to the needed processes of accountability. They added drama when they shouldn't.) 

The transfer order on Lopez was never fulfilled, as she remained under House custody at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City. Before this, she was detained at the House of Representatives for three days after being cited for contempt in the confidential funds probe. 

On Feb. 24, 2017, De Lima was jailed for alleged links to the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). De Lima--a former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson and DOJ secretary--would remain incarcerated until Nov. 13, 2023. 

She was detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame.