Vice Pres. Sara Duterte Speaks on Decision To Stay at House
SARA DUTERTE – The Vice President revealed her plan to stay until after New Year at the House of Representatives.
During the latest hearing conducted by a House panel over the budget use of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP), only the officials of the OVP appeared. VP Sara skipped the November 20 hearing saying that she already appeared at the first hearing and she was not asked.
OVP chief of staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez, Chief Accountant Julieta Villadelrey, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Gerome Tenido, Director for Administrative and Finance Services Rosalynne Sanchez, and Budget Division officer-in-charge Edelyn Rabago appeared at the House hearing but they all denied having roles in the disbursement of the Confidential Funds.
Atty. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff of the OVP, was cited in contempt for her supposed “undue interference” and the House ordered her detention until Monday, November 25. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte visited her at the lower chamber.
What appeared even more surprising was that Vice Pres. Duterte spent the night at the House of Representatives after visiting Lopez. The Vice President and the OVP Chief-of-Staff reportedly talked from 7:40 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and the former went to her brother’s office afterwards.
Duterte stayed at the office of Davao City First District Representative Paolo Duterte. Reportedly, she brought a pillow and was really decided to spend the night at the House. However, at a recent news conference via Zoom, the Vice President further revealed that she intends to stay at the House of Representatives “until after the New Year’s”.
Based on a report on GMA News, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed she told House Sergeant-at-Arms retired Major Gen. Napoleon Taas when they talked about her security that only House Speaker Martin Romualdez allegedly wants her dead and he will not do it inside the House complex.
According to the Vice President, her brother offered his office so it will be convenient for her to see Lopez with the permission of the House committee in case the OVP chief-of-staff needs her. Based on the report, she revealed that her staff provided Lopez a WiFi connection so she can continue her work at the OVP amid her detention.
However, according to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, she has yet to tell her children where she is. They were expecting that she’s in Cagayan de Oro. She planned to tell her children about her whereabouts during their video call.
Following the OVP officials denying roles in the release of the Confidential Funds, House Speaker Martin Romualdez expressed his belief that only Vice Pres. Duterte may know how the CIFs of her offices were used.