VP Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post

Karen De Guzman

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>(UPDATED)</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.</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.</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><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>LOPEZ TO ATTEND HOUSE HEARINGS</strong></div><p>Duterte added that 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 <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/23/vp-duterte-speaker-s-interest-in-presidency-behind-house-probe-into-confidential-funds-1003">supposed ambition for the presidency.</a></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 <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/11/21/romualdez-says-sara-duterte-should-attend-house-probe-1920">Duterte should attend them and testify under oath</a>.</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><br/></div><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 Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post | ABS-CBN

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VP Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post

VP Duterte says chief of staff Zuleika Lopez resigning from post

Karen De Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 24, 2024 08:08 AM PHT

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Updated Nov 24, 2024 09:05 AM PHT

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Sara Duterte

Zuleika Lopez

Office of the Vice President

Martin Romualdez

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