Zuleika Lopez to take ‘legal steps’ vs House detention extension

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

MANILA, Philippines — Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief of staff Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez will take legal steps against the decision of the House committee on good government and public accountability to extend her detention to 10 days.

In an interview on Tuesday, Vice President Sara Duterte said Lopez had started meeting with her lawyers this morning.

“Attorney Lopez, whose detention was extended, has meetings today with her lawyers, and her mother is also there. Let’s just wait for her attorneys to move,” Duterte said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“She’ll take legal steps. That’s what she told me.,” she added.

READ: BuCor ready for possible detention of OVP exec Zuleika Lopez

Duterte likewise revealed that this was what Lopez’s mother would want — to take the issue to court.

Lopez was cited for contempt by the panel investigating the alleged misuse of funds for the OVP and DepEd after lawmakers found her committing undue interference during the committee’s sixth hearing.

The vice president also stayed at the House premises last Friday night to accompany Lopez, who is now confined at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).

Lopez’s health condition

Regarding matters concerning Lopez’s health, the vice president said she “no longer cries.” The OVP chief of staff is currently accompanied by her mother and best friend from Davao City.

Likewise, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who was also at the VMMC told reporters in a separate interview that Lopez’s condition was improving.

“Yesterday, when she found out I was going to leave, she cried and had a panic attack again. The VP was not there. I went to the house. I went to the Senate in session,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.

“She’s okay. It was only yesterday that she had a panic attack,” he added.

Moreover, Duterte said that Lopez underwent a CT scan, to rule out the possibility of a stroke.