House panel: Sara interference a precedent for abuse

The House committee on good government and public accountability on Saturday warned that Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged interference in the transfer of her chief-of-staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City has set a "dangerous precedent" for abuse.

In a statement, the House panel said Lopez' transfer from the House of Representatives detention facility to the women's correctional was a "lawful order" resolved by the committee, chaired by Manila City Representative Joel Chua.

"However, the execution of this lawful order was directly obstructed by Vice President Sara Duterte, who took the extraordinary step of introducing herself as Atty. Lopez's legal counsel and physically intervening to prevent the service of the transfer order," the House committee said.

"This act of interference demonstrates a blatant disregard for institutional authority and due process, setting a dangerous precedent for abuse of power," it added.

GMA News Online reached out to Duterte's camp for comment but has yet to respond as of posting time.

Transfer order

In an early morning press interview, the Vice President questioned the transfer order.

"Saan ka nakahanap ng committee order na nangyari between 6:50 p.m. to 12 midnight on a Friday na walang pasok ang House of Representatives na hindi naman man lang… conducted a hearing without the permission of the Speaker?" Duterte said.

(Where can you find a committee order that came to pass between 6:50 p.m. to 12 midnight on a Friday, when there's no more work at the House of Representatives... and conducted a hearing without permission of the Speaker?)

Chua said that the decision to change Lopez’s place of detention was reached during an emergency Zoom meeting on Friday after the panel received two letters that raised “red flags” among its members.

In an interview with Super Radyo DzBB on Sunday, Chua said the House panel received a letter from Duterte requesting that she be allowed to jog in the complex and another letter from her brother, Davao City First District Representative Paolo Duterte, allowing her to sleep in the premises.  

During the Zoom meeting, the lawmaker said members of the House panel raised concerns about the Vice President’s presence in the House complex and its impact on security operations.

“Ang isa nga po sa mga napag-usapan ay ‘yung security risk, hindi lamang po ng ating House of Representatives pati na rin po ng ating Vice President,” Chua said.

In the same dzBB interview, Chua said the concern with Duterte’s security led to the decision to transfer Lopez from the House detention facility to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.

“Naging ganyan po ang resulta dahil na alarma sa security. Unang una hindi naman ganun karami ang security dahil kung doon matutulog ang ating Vice President eh babantayan siya, babantayan pa yung compound so baka mag create ng security problem,” Chua said.

(That was the result of a security alarm. First of all, there was not much security in the Batasan Pambansa Complex. If our Vice President sleeps there, she would need protection, and the complex also needs guards, so it might create a security problem.) 

Disruptions

The House panel also said that Duterte's alleged intervention came during her visit to the House detention facility, which was initially permitted under specific guidelines.

"Instead of adhering to these parameters, Duterte escalated the situation by overstaying her visit and ignoring repeated directives from the Sergeant-at-Arms to leave the premises," the House panel said.

"She then locked herself inside the office of Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, prompting a lockdown of the entire House premises," it added.

The House committee cited the following actions taken by the Vice President to block the transfer order:

• Assuming the role of legal counsel for Lopez to impede the Committee's directive
• Physically preventing House security personnel from executing the transfer order
• Disrupting House operations and disregarding established rules governing visits to detainees
• Compromising security protocols by bringing an excessive and unauthorized armed presence into the complex

According to the House panel, House Sergeant-at-Arms retired Police Major General Napoleon Taas reported that the Vice President's actions caused significant disruptions, including excessive resource strain, reallocation of security personnel, and compromised safety within the House premises.

"These alarming acts of defiance by Vice President Duterte severely undermined the authority of the House and disrupted its operations," the panel said, quoting Taas' report.

Lopez was brought to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City early Saturday morning after she felt ill amid the House of Representatives' order to transfer her to the Women’s Correctional Institute.

'Attempted homicide'

Duterte claimed that the transfer of her chief of staff was an "attempted homicide."

The Vice President also lamented the lack of cooperation from the police personnel present within the House's vicinity to get an ambulance when Lopez fell ill.

"So, hindi ko naiintindihan. Kanina ko lang naisip noong nagkakagulo na sa ambulance. Paulit-ulit kaming humihingi ng tulong sa loob ng detention center tapos walang tumutulong sa amin," she said.

(So, I don't understand. I just thought of this while there was a commotion at the ambulance. We asked for help multiple times inside the detention center and nobody helped us.)

"Nong tinanong ko ang doctor kung puwedeng private vehicle na lang ang pagkargahan, sabi niya, kung wala namang ambulance okay na yan… ako na ang mag-assist sa patient. Tapos noong andyan na 'yung private vehicle biglang may dumating na ambulance ng pulis. So ibig sabihin andoon lang sila? Sa vicinity? Sa loob ng HOR (House of Representatives)? Wala silang ginawa?" the Vice President said.

(When I asked a doctor if we can place her in a private vehicle, the doctor said, if we don't have an ambulance, that should be okay... I would assist the patient. Then when the private vehicle came, an ambulance from the police suddenly arrived. So that means they were just there? Inside the vicinity? Inside the HOR? They didn't do anything?)

Lopez was cited in contempt after she confirmed that she signed a letter asking state auditors not to comply with a subpoena from the House appropriations panel concerning submission of audit reports on the confidential fund use of the OVP and DepEd in years 2022 and 2023.

The Vice President has maintained that she has never misused public funds, and that the ongoing House panel inquiry is not in aid of legislation but a dry run of an impeachment bid against her. — VDV/ VAL/RF, GMA Integrated News