OVP staff enter Rep. Duterte’s office by claiming they will bring durian

Vice President Sara Duterte during her press conference at the Office of the Vice President, Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, Mandaluyong City, on October 17, 2024. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — How did Vice President Sara Duterte and her staff elude security at the House of Representatives, enter her brother’s office, and lock themselves in it?

This is one of the questions after tensions flared at the House over the weekend due to the Vice President’s visit to her chief of staff detained in the chamber.

Apparently, it was because of the durian, a fruit famous in Davao City, Duterte’s hometown.

During the House committee on good government and public accountability’s hearing on the alleged misuse of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) funds on Monday, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco narrated the House’s record of events involving Duterte’s visit to her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez last Thursday.

In his testimony before the committee, Velasco said after Duterte’s visit, the OVP convoy headed for the Batasang Pambansa complex’s South Gate. But instead of exiting the House premises, the convoy turned left towards the South Wing Annex (SWA) where the office Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte was located.

According to Velasco, Vice President Duterte entered the SWA after one of her security officers said they would bring durian to Rep. Duterte’s office.

“Atty. Zuleika Lopez was brought to the HRep Visitor Center at 6:30 p.m. for the visit of Vice President Duterte, and exited the Visitors Center at 10:00 p.m. At 10:05 p.m. VP Duterte boarded her vehicle convoy,” Velasco said.

“Instead of exiting via the South Gate, she proceeded to South Wing Annex, Room 304, which is the office of her brother, Rep. Paolo Duterte, supposedly to change clothes but never left the office. The Security of the VP Duterte explained to the duty guard at SWA that they would deliver durian to the office of Rep. Duterte,” he added.

Velasco said that when the House’s Legislative Security Bureau (LSB) observed that Duterte had been overstaying, House Sergeant-at-Arms retired Maj. Gen. Napoleon Taas coordinated with the OVP and appealed to the Vice President to leave Rep. Duterte’s room.

The Secretary-General said OVP officials were also reminded that electricity would be cut off by midnight for energy-saving measures.

“At 11:00 p.m., Gen. Taas, the Sergeant-at-Arms started coordinating with the OVP security officers to leave the HRep Complex as the VP has already exceeded the visiting hours contained in our Security Guidelines.  He personally appealed to VP Duterte at SWA, Room 304 — of Congressman Duterte — to leave the premises but was ignored,” Velasco said.

“The OVP Security officers were reminded of HRep’s standard practice of no lights and no air conditioning in the building after hours.  The following day, November 22 VP Duterte’s security officer exited the Honorable Congressman Duterte’s office and informed the SAA that the VP was already asleep. General Taas reminded the security officer that power to the building will be cut off in 10 minutes,” he added.

READ: Sara Duterte visits detained chief of staff, spends night at House

Lopez was ordered detained at the House after being cited for contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability.

READ: House panel moves to cite OVP exec Lopez for contempt

She was ordered detained at the House premises for five days or until Monday. However, the detention order issued against her was extended for five more days through the motion of ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro.

It was also Castro who moved to cite Lopez for contempt due to the OVP official’s letter to the Commission on Audit (COA), asking the agency to refrain from giving the House its audit observations on the OVP’s confidential funds expenses.

Castro believes that Lopez and the OVP were ordering COA, which would have prevented the House from scrutinizing the OVP’s transactions using public money.

The motion for a contempt citation against Lopez was duly seconded and approved by the panel chairperson, Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua.

Before Castro issued the motion, lawmakers were already frustrated with Lopez, as she insisted that there were matters in the OVP that she was not privy to despite being Vice President Duterte’s chief of staff.

Lopez appealed for the reconsideration of the contempt order against her, apologizing to Castro and noting that the letter to COA was just a request. Castro then said there were other issues to consider like Lopez being evasive in her answers to lawmakers’ questions.

Castro was referring to questions from Deputy Speaker David Suarez. He asked Lopez why she claimed not to know the OVP’s secret fund transactions when it was she who wrote the response to letters and summons regarding the issue, including the OVP’s reply to COA’s audit observation memorandum.