VP Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post

Karen De Guzman

Jessie Cruzat

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1732406419204Gcy2lySbYAA2h5i.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="VP Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte, attends the resumption of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability inquiry on Nov. 20, 2024 into the alleged misuse of public funds by the OVP and the DepEd under Duterte. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(3nd UPDATE)</strong> — Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the Office of the Vice President chief of staff who was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/20/ovp-chief-of-staff-detained-after-asking-coa-to-not-comply-with-house-panel-2117">cited for contempt </a>and ordered transferred to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong has indicated she wants to resign, Vice President Sara Duterte said, saying Sunday that that has yet to be finalized.</p><p>Duterte said Lopez was deeply traumatized after being detained at the House of Representatives custodial center on November 20.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:456px;height:897px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1860460217286414563&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2024-11-23T23%3A34%3A09.460689%3Ad299b6ba-86b3-4866-8867-7cc3964df241%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=73dca37b8b187da92aa25746512dc876638fad0b&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1860460217286414563"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>Police officers reportedly entered her detention room at the House of Representatives around midnight on Saturday to enforce the transfer order to the women&#x27;s prison.</p><p>She was rushed to the hospital after falling ill upon learning about the order.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/23/vp-duterte-blocks-house-order-to-transfer-chief-of-staff-to-mandaluyong-0907">READ: VP Duterte blocks House order to transfer chief-of-staff to Mandaluyong</a></div><p>“Sabi niya, &#x27;I want to resign. I want to resign from the Office of the Vice President&#x27; and I told her okay. Sabi niya, &#x27;I want to go home to my mother&#x27;,” Duterte said in an interview at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center on Saturday.</p><p>The Vice President said that Lopez wanted her to ask officials to let her go home to her mother.</p><p>“And then sinabi ko, &#x27;at this point, that is truly impossible&#x27;,” she added.</p><p>Asked about the details of the resignation, Duterte said that has yet to be discussed.</p><p>“Wala naman siyang sinabi pa, kahapon lang naman ‘yun na-discuss at sinabi niya na gusto niya tapusin na niya ‘yung part niya sa hearings niya, ma-discharge na siya doon sa hearings lahat ng tanong sa kanya tanungin na,” the Vice President said in an ambush interview at VMMC on Sunday.</p><p>(She did not say yet since we only discussed it yesterday and she said she wants to finish her part of the hearings so she can be discharged. They should already ask all the questions that they have for her) </p><div><strong>NIGHTMARES, LACK OF APPETITE</strong></div><p>In an update sent to reporters Sunday morning, Duterte said Lopez had nightmares “of someone smothering her with a pillow” and had no appetite.</p><p>She said Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go will stay with Lopez when she goes to see her children.</p><p>“She demanded lawyers stay outside the room 24 hours a day. Gusto niya daily lawyer meeting (She wants daily meetings with lawyers),” Duterte also said, adding Lopez’s mother is arriving on Monday.</p><p>Lopez was cleared by physicians and discharged from St. Luke&#x27;s Medical Center before being transferred back to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for further tests.</p><p>Police Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said that all directives came from the House of Representatives and that the police&#x27;s role is limited to securing the detainee.</p><p>He said there were concerns that Lopez might be transferred to the Correctional Institute for Women from St. Luke&#x27;s but said that higher-ups had cleared her stay at Veterans.</p><p>“We will be providing the perimeter security as requested by the HOR,” he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/23/escudero-appeals-for-calm-after-vp-sara-duterte-s-rants-2238">READ: Escudero appeals for calm after VP Sara Duterte&#x27;s rants</a></div><div><strong>BATO, BONG GO TO STAND WATCH OVER LOPEZ</strong></div><p>Duterte on Sunday said she would be leaving VMMC to be with her children but that Lopez would not be left alone.</p><p>“I pleaded with her na pauwiin ako para makita ko ‘yong mga anak ko. Initially, umiyak siya. Pinabayaan ko na muna siya sandali and then inulit ko na ‘yon na naman ulit,” said Duterte.  </p><p>(I pleaded with her to let me go home to be with my children. She cried, so I let her be, then I asked her again and she cried again)</p><p>Duterte said that she told Lopez that she would go but &quot;in exchange&quot;, Go would stay with her. </p><p>“Dalawa pa rin ang sasama sa kanya, si Senator Dela Rosa at Senator Bong Go.”</p><p>(She will still have to companions, Senator Dela Rosa and Senator Bong Go)</p><p>Duterte also mentioned that Lopez is eager to finish her involvement in the ongoing House probe so she can finally return home.  </p><div><strong>DELA ROSA: LOPEZ IS TRAUMATIZED<br/></strong></div><p>In a separate ambush interview, Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa described Lopez&#x27;s current condition as “traumatized” and afraid of being sent to the Correctional Institute for Women.</p><p>“Yan ‘yong takot niya. Dito lang muna kami,” said Dela Rosa.  </p><p>(That is her fear, so we will stay here in the meantime)</p><p>Dela Rosa highlighted his and Go&#x27;s long-standing friendship with Lopez, their being from the Duterte bailiwick of Davao City, and that Lopez feels more comfortable with their presence.</p><p>“Sa kwarto ni Zuleika, andon si Inday [VP Sara Duterte], andoon ‘yong mga aide niya. Sa harap ng kwarto niya, may isang kwarto rin na pinagamit sa atin,” he added.  </p><p>(VP Duterte will be in Zuleika&#x27;s room with her aides. We have been allowed to use the room in front of here)</p><div><strong>LOPEZ TO ATTEND HOUSE HEARINGS</strong></div><p>Duterte said Lopez would still attend the House hearings into how the OVP and Department of Education, which Duterte headed until July, used confidential funds granted in 2022 and 2023.</p><p>Duterte has denounced the hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability as a political attack to discredit her and help Speaker Martin Romualdez&#x27;s supposed ambition for the presidency.</p><p>Romualdez has not been an active participant in the hearings, which members say are seeking accountability for public funds, but has suggested that Duterte should attend them and testify under oath.</p><p>“On that point, nanalo si Martin Romualdez. She’s resigning. Tatapusin lang niya ‘yung hearings,” Duterte said.</p><p>(On that point, Martin Romualdez won. She&#x27;s resigning. She&#x27;ll just finish the hearings)</p><div><strong>NOT PRIVY TO LEGAL PLANS<br/></strong></div><p>When asked about challenging the transfer order of the House panel for Lopez, Duterte said she is not aware of the plans of Lopez and her legal team.</p><p>“Hindi ko alam ‘yung discussion ni Atty. Lopez saka ‘yung mga lawyer niya eh. But subukan ko magtanong sa kanila tapos sasabihin ko sa inyo kung ano ‘yung makukuha kong information,” Duterte noted. </p><p>(I don&#x27;t know what she and her lawyers discussed, but I&#x27;ll try to ask and tell you what information I can get)</p><p>Earlier, Duterte presented herself as one of Lopez’s legal counsel as they condemned the transfer order issued on Friday night, which directed Lopez to be transferred from the House detention facility to the Correctional Institute for Women In Mandaluyong City.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/11/5/sara-duterte-spokesperson-leaves-ovp-says-contract-pre-terminated-1306">RELATED: Sara Duterte spokesperson leaves OVP, says contract &#x27;pre-terminated&#x27;</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/awsMcQbrUtY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Duterte said Lopez was deeply traumatized after being detained at the House of Representatives custodial center on November 20.</p>

Duterte said Lopez was deeply traumatized after being detained at the House of Representatives custodial center on November 20.

VP Sara Duterte says aide Zuleika Lopez's resignation yet to be finalized

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VP Sara Duterte says aide Zuleika Lopez's resignation yet to be finalized

Karen De Guzman,

Jessie Cruzat,

Harlene Delgado,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 24, 2024 08:08 AM PHT

|

Updated Nov 24, 2024 06:55 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Zuleika Lopez

Office of the Vice President

Martin Romualdez

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