The midnight press briefing held by the Office of the Vice President on Saturday, November 23, was chaotic and drama-packed, to say the least. The briefing via Zoom, which started at 12:32 am and lasted for nearly three hours, was prompted by the order of the House committee on good government to transfer House-detained OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City.
The invitation sent by the OVP media office said that Lopez was holding the virtual presser. She faced the media from her detention facility, with the lights turned off due to the supposed House security staff on standby outside, after she refused to comply with the transfer order.
Lopez was visibly distressed, crying as she recounted how House security tried to serve the transfer order. She claimed that a total of nine people “barged” into her detention room and attempted to remove her from the House premises. Lopez asked them to leave, insisting that her lawyer had to be present.
“Nobody can just come in here and demand to transfer me in the middle of the night. I have my rights. I am not a victim of any crime,” she said, adding that House security confiscated her and her assistant’s phones.
”This is not just harassment; this is a threat to my life. They gang up on you in the middle of the night. Wala nang batas sa bansang ito (There’s no rule of law in this country),” she added.
House panel chairman Joel Chua explained in a statement later on Saturday morning that “serious security concerns” and the Vice President’s “alarming and unprecedented actions” prompted a special meeting of his committee late Friday night, where they agreed to move Lopez to the women’s prison.
After Zuleika’s outburst, reporters were surprised to see the Vice President on the screen. She had taken over the media briefing.
“She cannot do it anymore. I think she’s gonna collapse. I’ve never seen her cry like that,” Duterte said, referring to Lopez. Days earlier, lawmakers had praised Lopez for her calm and collected appearance before the panel on Wednesday, November 20.
Lopez had been detained at the House facility since Wednesday night after she was cited for contempt due to her evasive answers during the probe into her boss’ alleged misuse of funds at the OVP and the Department of Education, when Duterte was DepEd chief. (READ: Fake receipts? Here’s a summary of House probe into Sara Duterte’s funds)
The Vice President had said that Lopez suffers from anxiety and panic attacks.
During the briefing, a visibly enraged Duterte spoke about the situation of her chief of staff. Lopez could be heard in the background, crying and throwing a fit. At that moment, Duterte could no longer contain her anger and lashed out at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. (READ: Sara Duterte: If I get killed, so will Marcos, Liza Araneta, Romualdez)
The Vice President continued to curse at the Marcos family, even revealing — in response to questions from a Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS) vlogger — that in the event she was killed, she had already asked an assassin to kill the Marcos couple and Romualdez in case she were to die. She repeatedly called the President a liar, accusing him of breaking his promise to the Filipino people to reduce the price of rice to P20 per kilo. Duterte also took a swipe at Romualdez, saying he would never become president because no one would vote for him.
As Duterte continued her tirade against the Marcoses, Lopez could be heard in the background, yelling and crying. She was also vomiting. The Vice President then left the briefing and was heard speaking to House security, requesting an ambulance.
After the Vice President left the Zoom call, there was no OVP media officer to moderate the virtual presser, and the briefing was taken over by DDS vloggers, one of whom slammed mainstream media for allegedly ignoring Lopez’s ordeal. This is a false claim, as news outlets had been covering the developments related to Lopez since Wednesday night.
As Lopez and Duterte were apparently not returning to resume the virtual press conference, most of the reporters left the Zoom briefing.
On early Saturday morning, Lopez left the House detention center as she was brought to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), after collapsing and vomiting. She was later transferred to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. The Vice President accompanied her.
House Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon Taas said Lopez is in good shape and in stable condition. On Saturday noon, Lopez was again transferred back to VMMC, a government hospital, as directed by Chua’s panel. – Rappler.com
