MANILA — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque joined supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte in a four-hour livestream on Saturday night as other supporters gathered outside Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City to protest a House panel’s order to transfer Duterte aide Zuleika Lopez to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City.

Atty. Lopez, chief of staff at the Office of the Vice President, had been cited for contempt and ordered detained by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.

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It later decided to transfer her, Manila Rep. Joel Chua said, to a facility with better security.

The attempt to transfer her led to tension and Lopez had to be brought to the hospital after vomiting and reportedly falling unconscious.

READ: VP Duterte blocks House order to transfer chief-of-staff to Mandaluyong

In his remarks, Roque lambasted the Marcos Jr. administration for what he called the unjust treatment of Lopez and other ‘ordinary’ government workers.

“Akala ng administrasyon tayo po ay natatakot. Kaya ang reaksyon ng tao kay Leika napakatindi dahil si Leika po ay hindi politiko,” Roque said over the internet.

(The administration thinks we are afraid. The people’s reaction to what happened to Leika has been this intense because she is not a politician)

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ROQUE HINTS AT OUSTER

Roque also accused  the House of Representatives of fixating on political vendettas instead of seeking legislative solutions to citizens’ problems.

“Dalawang presidente po ang aming nakita na pinatalsik… yung ating pagdalo ngayon, eto po ang ebidensya na ang Pilipino hindi na papayag sa kahit anong diktadurya. Ito po ay ebidensya na hindi po katanggap-tanggap ang mapang-aping Kongreso.”

(We have seen two presidents ousted. Our attendance today is evidence that Filipinos will not allow any kind of dictatorship. This is evidence that that oppressive Congress is doing is unacceptable)

Roque has more than once called for people to gather on EDSA, the site of ouster protests in 1986 and in 2001. His calls have gone largely unheeded.

“Wag po tayong mawalan ng pag-asa, magkakaroon po tayo ng bagong gobyerno,” he said.

(Let us not lose hope. We will have a new government)

VIGIL OUTSIDE VETERANS

Supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte also gathered outside the Veterans Memorial Medical Center on Saturday evening

The vigil, which began at 6 p.m., drew Duterte supporters from as far as away as Laguna and Bulacan. Some attendees said they hailed from Mindanao.

Many prayed for the vice president’s safety.

“Protektahan po natin si VP Sara kasi nanganganib po ang buhay niya,” said Laarni Santos, an overseas Filipino worker and vlogger who joined the gathering.

(Let us protect VP Sara because her life is in danger)

Duterte, in a livestream early Saturday morning, claimed that House Speaker Martin Romualdez wants her dead, adding she had already arranged to have Romualdez as well as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Marcos-Araneta killed if the supposed plot succeeds.

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“Nagsalita siya ng ganun dahil galit na siya,” Santos said, saying Duterte had had enough.

(She only spoke that way because she is angry)

Former Santa Fe, Cebu mayor Jose Esgana, a long-time Duterte supporter, described the transfer order as excessive.

“Ang ginawa nila ngayon kay Atty. Lopez, sobra na, tama na,” Esgana said.

(What they did to Atty. Lopez was too much)

Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipino senators Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go shared similar sentiments earlier Saturday, stressing that Lopez has not been charged with anything and does not belong in a prison.

Byron Cristobal, known as Banat By on his vlogs, expressed outrage over the alleged delayed medical assistance provided to Lopez, who reportedly collapsed and experienced difficulty breathing upon being informed about the transfer order.

“Kung ang isang tao, kahit sino pa ‘yan… kita mo nang nakabulagta, tutulungan mo na ‘yan. Unang-una, hindi naman po kriminal si Attorney Lopez. Siya po ay isang resource person,” Cristobal said.

(If a person, no matter who, if you see them collapse, you should help them. In the first place, Attorney Lopez is not a criminal. She is a resource person of the committee)

Rep. Chua on Saturday said that House doctors were available to help and found Lopez’s condition not medically critical.

The House Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability said the transfer order will remain in effect once Lopez is discharged from the hospital.

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