MANILA, Philippines – Amid calls for his sister to leave the House premises, Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte on Friday, November 22, wrote to House committee on good government chairperson Joel Chua to “respectfully” inform him that he has given Vice President Sara Duterte “unconditional permission to stay indefinitely in my office to discharge her day-to-day duties.”
“The Vice President’s stay will also correspond to her visits to Usec. Zuleika Lopez and other OVP (Office of the Vice President) personnel who are currently detained under the custody of the Congress’ Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) in the Legislative Building of the House of Representatives,” he told Chua in the letter.
“I guarantee that no illegal acts or unlawful activities shall be committed by the Vice President, her security, and other personnel during their day,” the lawmaker added.
The Davao congressman also took an apparent jab at the power shutdown at the House for several hours on Friday, while his sister and her staff were in his office, as he also said in his letter to Chua, “Kindly note that she is amenable to say in this Representation’s office even without electricity and running water during the periods of maintenance.”
The Vice President has been in the House since 7:40 pm, Thursday, November 21, to visit her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez. Lopez has been detained at the lower chamber since Wednesday, November 20, after she was cited her in contempt by Chua’s panel investigating Duterte’s alleged fund misuse at the OVP and the Department of Education when she was still DepEd chief
The Vice President spent Thursday night in Congressman Duterte’s office, and based on her media interview via Zoom on Friday night, she and her team are planning to stay much, much longer, depending on how long her staff would be detained at the lower chamber.
Asked whether she will be at the House “until Monday,” or the day of the next House hearing on her alleged fund misuse, Duterte said she and her team are looking at two timelines: until after New Year’s Eve and until Congress adjourns in June 2025.
She said this is based on the experience of the “Ilocos 6” — the six Ilocos Norte officials detained by the House good government committee for 57 days in 2017. The panel was probing the alleged misuse of P66.45 million worth of Ilocos Norte tobacco funds.
Duterte said the duration of her stay at the House is based on their anticipation that once her four other OVP staff — Gina Acosta, OVP special disbursing officer; Sunshine Fajarda, former DepEd assistant secretary; Edward Fajarda, former DepEd special disbursing officer; and Lemuel Ortonio — attend the hearing on Monday, they too would be detained.
The House good government committee had earlier slapped contempt citations against the four for continuously snubbing its inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds of Duterte.
Asked whether she would appear at the House hearing on Monday, Duterte said that she has yet to discuss this with her lawyers since they were focused on Lopez.
Asked about Lopez, the Vice President said her chief of staff was in “high spirits” and laughed at her jokes during her visits, which was a good sign. They had met thrice since Thursday night.
“She is in high spirits. Napapatawa ko pa siya, ibig sabihin nage-gets pa niya ang jokes ko. (I can make her laugh, which means that she still gets my jokes.) We divide the time na magkasama kami (when we’re together) talking about personal things and talking about work,” Duterte said.
Duterte said that Lopez had requested that she accompany her in her House detention cell for Lopez’s “peace of mind” as she was reportedly prone to anxiety or panic attacks. Duterte said she wanted to be close by in case Lopez had an attack, which was why she decided to temporarily hold office in her brother’s House office while she was detained. – Rappler.com
