No legal ground to detain OVP chief of staff in prison – Alvarez

Office of the Vice President Undersecretary and Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez. INQUIRER / GRIG MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Martin Romualdez and others involved in transferring Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief of staff Zuleika Lopez to the women’s prison from the House detention facility may be held liable for arbitrary detention, according to Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.

Alvarez, a former House Speaker, said there is no “legal ground” to detain Lopez, specifically “outside the jurisdiction of the legislative department.”

“I think Speaker Romualdez, as well as those involved in the incident, can be charged with arbitrary detention. There is no legal ground to detain Atty. Lopez at the Women’s Correctional Institute. That is for those charged with a crime and sentenced by the court. Atty. Lopez’s situation is not like that. It’s far from that,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

Citing House rules, Alvarez said “a person cited in contempt can be detained in such place as the Chairperson or acting Chairperson may designate.”

“What they did to Lopez is very wrong. The power of Congress to detain is limited to detention facilities under its jurisdiction,” he added.

READ: Veep’s top aide moved from House to hospital after panic attack

The House committee on good government and public accountability has so far conducted seven hearings on the alleged misuse of the OVP and the Department of Education’s confidential funds (CF) under Duterte’s watch.

During the last hearing, Lopez was cited for contempt and ordered detained in the House premises.

Duterte accompanied Lopez on Friday night. The Vice President and Lopez then conducted a press conference addressing issues surrounding the detainment of the chief of staff.

Lopez is currently confined at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center due to medical issues caused by a panic attack reportedly brought by the news of her transfer.

Similar to Duterte’s claims, Alvarez suspected that Lopez’s supposed transfer was aimed at “pressuring” the Vice President and her staff. He also said that this alleged harassment targets to “destroy” their enemy for the 2028 elections.