FILE PHOTO: Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of City Government of Davao
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte will be staying “indefinitely” in the office of her brother Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte at the House of Representatives (HOR) to visit her office’s personnel who are currently detained in the building.
In a letter dated Nov. 22, Pulong informed House committee on good government and public accountability chair Joel Chua that he has given his sister permission to stay in his office.
“This [r]epresentation is writing to respectfully inform you that I have given my sister, Vice President Sara Duterte, my unconditional permission to stay indefinitely in my office to discharge her day-to-day duties,” said Pulong.
According to Pulong, Sara’s indefinite stay corresponds to her visits to her chief-of-staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, as well as other personnel of the Office of the Vice President who are currently under the custody of the Congress’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms.
“I guarantee that no illegal acts or unlawful activities shall be committed by the Vice President, her security, and other personnel during their stay,” said Pulong.
All this developed after Sara spent the night at the office of her brother to visit Lopez, who was cited for contempt by a House panel and was ordered detained for five days.
Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David Suarez, and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe in a joint statement earlier said that Sergeant-at-Arms Napoleon Taas already asked Sara to leave the House premises after 10:00 p.m.
READ: VP Duterte ignores request to leave House after visiting chief of staff
However, the Vice President insisted on staying.