Sara's chief of staff detained for contempt

Vice President Sara Duterte's chief of staff was cited in contempt last night when she finally faced the House of Representatives, and will be detained in the chamber until Nov. 25.

- DELON PORCALLA

Rep. France Castro of party-list ACT Teachers moved to cite in contempt lawyer Zuleika Lopez for intellectual dishonesty after she was deemed to be making a fool of lawmakers.

Lopez attempted to explain her side soon after Castro made the the motion.

The hearing was suspended shortly after.

Castro, who is Deputy Minority Leader, based her contempt move on a letter of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) dated Aug. 21 to the Commission on Audit, advising auditors to ignore the House on the basis that the COA's probe is not yet complete.

The letter was signed by Lopez.

"I will accept your answer, but please respect me if I say that I don't believe you," Castro told Lopez, adding that the more than 300 congressmen, respect each other's views even if they belong to multiple endeavors.

Lopez repeatedly feigned innocence on the letter, saying she was not involved in its preparation, but "had to sign it as a matter of course," owing to the fact that it was the collegial position taken by the OVP.

House members have been keeping their tempers, however, among them Reps. Romeo Acop and Jude Acidre, a retired police general who is also a lawyer by profession and a former chief of staff himself too, respectively.

"There was no intention from us to command them (COA). It was something that we requested the COA. At the end of the day, it was for COA to decide. I deeply apologize, this is a personal apology. I request the committee members to lift the order and reconsider," she said.

Lopez will remain detained until Nov. 25, when the hearing resumes.

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