Office of VP Sara Duterte Reveals Sen. Imee Marcos Extended Help during OVP Chief-of-Staff’s Hospitalization
SARA DUTERTE – The Office of the Vice President thanked Senator Imee Marcos for the help amid the “crisis” in the OVP.
The Office of the Vice President is surrounded by several issues. Currently, it is being questioned in the House of Representatives regarding the spending of its 2023 Confidential Funds. The lower chamber also questions the CIFs spending of the Department of Education (DepEd) under the lead of Duterte.
Previously, the chief-of-staff of the Office of the Vice President, Attorney Zuleika Lopez, was cited for contempt for an alleged “interference” during the hearing. The House of Representatives ordered her detention in the lower chamber.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte visited her OVP Chief-of-Staff during detention and she even spent the night at the House of Representatives. However, Lopez fell ill during her detention and was brought to the hospital. She was confined at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
Lopez was brought to St. Luke’s Medical Center but she was transferred back to the VMMC upon a transfer order. It was only after the incident that the Vice President has appeared once again at the House hearing regarding the budget spending of the OVP and DepEd at the House.
Previously, Vice Pres. Duterte said she will not attend the House hearings because she already did in the first inquiry and she was not asked. According to her, she only sat at the hearing and left early as she was not asked.
Amid the issues surrounding the Office of the Vice President, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte assured the Filipinos that the OVP will not break. She thanked the lawyers, doctors, and the other professionals that helped the OVP amid the “crisis”. According to her, it paves the way for them to focus on the year-end activities of the office.
Recently, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office also thanked Senator Imee Marcos. Her gratitude to the lawmaker is amid an ongoing rift with Pres. Bongbong Marcos after she threw remarks against the Chief Executive. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) even issued a subpoena against Duterte for her remarks that seemingly sparked threats against Marcos Jr.
According to the Office of the Vice President, Sen. Imee Marcos made sure the existence of a Department of the Interior and Local Government order that allowed Vice Pres. Sara Duterte to be with her chief-of-staff at the VMMC. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Senator has also visited Lopez during her confinement.
“Nagpapasalamat ang Tanggapan ng Pangalawang Pangulo sa lahat ng mga tumulong, sumuporta, at nagpaabot ng pakikiisa at pagdamay sa opisina nang humarap ito sa krisis at kagipitan kamakailan,” the OVP said.
Amid the issues surrounding her, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte called on Filipinos to be forgiving this Christmas but admitted that she will not forgive.