House detained Sara’s chief of staff

Vice President Sara Duterte’s long-time aid and chief of staff, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, will be detained at the House of Representatives for five days after being cited in contempt for causing "undue interference."

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro accused Lopez of committing such an act when she signed a letter to the Commission on Audit (CoA) dated 21 August requesting that it withhold compliance with a subpoena issued by the House Committee on Appropriations.

The subpoena was intended to review the utilization of P500 million in confidential and intelligence funds that Duterte received in 2022 and 2023.

“Mr. Chair, Atty. Lopez violated our proceedings [which is under] Section 11(f) [on] undue interference on the conduct of proceedings. May I move to cite Atty. Lopez in contempt,” Castro said, which was approved by House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability chair Joel Chua.

As a result, Lopez will be confined at the House premises until the committee holds its next hearing on Monday, 25 November.

Although Lopez claimed the letter was drafted by OVP Assistant Chief of Staff Lemuel Ortonio, lawmakers contended that signing it undermined the Congress’ authority and its oversight functions.

“The letter was prepared as mentioned earlier by Mr. Ortonio and he presented the attachments to the same. As a matter of course, your honor, I took a look at it and then saw it correctly informed and because all external communication has to be signed by the highest official in the Office of the Vice President, I signed [it],” she narrated.

In the letter, the OVP appealed to CoA to decline the House subpoena. Lopez attributed this to their pending response to the audit reports, which flagged the utilization of a significant portion of the secret funds. 

Lopez told lawmakers that Duterte was aware of the letter.

"Parang siga-siga ba ‘yung Office of the Vice President na utusan ang CoA na hindi kami sundin?" Castro asked Lopez.

"Mr. Chair, hindi po siga-siga ang OVP. It was really just a respectful request, your honor, for them to consider our position," Lopez responded. 

But Castro insisted, "In this letter, Mr. Chair, the Office of the Vice President really has a plan to interfere with our conduct of proceedings. Because of this Mr. Chair, I'm sorry, Atty. Lopez, but were the one who signed it."

Lopez attempted to lift the contempt order by apologizing to Castro but her apology fell on deaf ears.

According to Castro, the contempt order was not only anchored on Lopez’s undue interference but also the “totality of the discussions,” as she appeared evasive in responding to questions from lawmakers.

Prior to Castro's statement, committee members were already ballistic with Lopez for repeatedly denying any knowledge of concerns involving the OVP, including the use of confidential funds, which they deemed “unbelievable” given that she is the chief of staff.

Lopez has been working under Duterte since 2010 as then Davao City administrator. She held the post until 2022 when she joined the Duterte in the OVP.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez did not buy Lopez’s excuses, saying she herself had authored letters related to the OVP’s confidential fund transactions. 

In the same vein, Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop argued that Lopez could not feign ignorance about the confidential funds, considering how “detailed” her letter to CoA was.

“And yet you’re telling us you do not know anything about its utilization but you can answer the AOMs (audit observation memorandums) of CoA? I cannot believe you do not know anything about its disbursement or liquidation,” Acop lamented. 

During the hearing, Lopez vehemently denied having a hand in the disbursement of the secret funds, pointing to Vice President Duterte and Special Disbursing Officer Gina Acosta. 

However, lawmakers were unconvinced, citing testimony from OVP career officials who identified Lopez and Acosta as primarily responsible for managing the funds in question. 

Both Lopez and Acosta belong to Duterte’s “inner circle” and previously worked with her during her tenure as mayor of Davao City, where similar large confidential fund allocations were made annually.