Vice President Sara Duterte intends to spend her weekend with her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez at the House of Representatives premises, where the latter has been detained since Wednesday after being cited in contempt by a committee investigating Duterte's alleged misuse of confidential funds.
At a press conference via Zoom last night, Duterte told reporters she had a permission from her brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte to indefinitely stay in his Batasang Pambansa office until Lopez is released from detention, possibly on Nov. 25.
"Since I'm not allowed to stay at the detention facility, I will temporarily stay here," the Vice President said, referring to her brother's office.
"Anyway, there's a sofa here. I brought some of my personal things with me...I will just have to call my kids later tonight to tell them that I can't go home for the weekend."
In a letter to the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua, she explained that Lopez "is not used to being alone and is worried that other detainees may cause her harm.
“She has requested me to join her so she may have peace of mind and get adequate rest,” Duterte wrote.
In a separate letter to Chua, she wrote that she intended to visit Lopez daily for the entire duration of the aide’s detention.
Duterte spent the night on Thursday in her brother’s office and left yesterday morning, returning later to announce her decision to spend the weekend at the House premises.
In an interview with radio dzBB earlier yesterday, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco confirmed that Duterte arrived at the House premises at around 7:40 p.m. on Thursday.
Velasco said Duterte and Lopez met at the Visitors’ Center because it was already beyond the visiting hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Detention Facility where Lopez is currently staying.
This story is from the November 23, 2024 edition of The Philippine Star.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 23, 2024 edition of The Philippine Star.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MMFF AT 50: WHAT MAKES EACH FILM WORTH WATCHING?
THAT TIME OF THE year has come when the Metro Manila Film Festival MMFF), which is having its golden edition, presents a collection of films that are in stark contrast in terms of narrative and theme. There are two or even more, however, that may belong to the same genre classification.
PIOLO GRATEFUL FOR LOVE TEAM WITH JUDAY: THAT MADE ME BECOME MAINSTREAM
In the 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) official entry “The Kingdom,” Piolo Pascual essays the role of an outcast farmer who is shunned by society but becomes an unlikely hero in the kingdom's quest for change.
COUNTDOWN TO SPLENDOR AT NEWPORT WORLD RESORTS
Newport World Resorts sets the stage for an unforgettable New Year celebration.
A TOAST TO LOCAL FLAVORS: FILIPINO FRUITS IN CRAFT COCKTAILS
A drinks menu caught my attention last Dec. 2 during chef Miko Calo’s AVEC Series at Makati Shangri-La’s Sage Bar, which ran from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9.
HOW I ALMOST MISSED ZEROBASEONE'S TIMELESS WORLD' IN MANILA
As much as I love Zerobaseone, I have to admit that the Manila leg of their concert didn’t start off well — at least for me.
Cost reduction, competitive pressure driving AI adoption in Phl
The need to reduce costs and pressure from competition are key drivers for artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among companies in the Philippines, but limited use cases and scalability challenges are obstacles to fully leveraging the technology, according to IBM.
Aboitiz, partners allot over P2 B for wind farm grid integration
Lihangin Wind Energy Corp. (LWEC), a joint venture of Aboitiz Renewables Inc., Vivant Energy Corp. and Singapore-based Vena Energy, is spending over P2 billion for the transmission connection of its massive wind farm in northern Samar.
ICTSI Receives Maiden Container in Indonesia
The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has welcomed its first container call in East Java, showing the capability of its Indonesian project to handle different kinds of vessels.
PEZA, DOLE sign data sharing agreement to streamline visa processing
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) have signed a data sharing agreement to streamline the PEZA visa application process as part of efforts to improve ease of doing business.
Fisherfolk poverty to worsen if big fishers enter municipal waters
Non-government organizations assailed the Supreme Court's decision to uphold a Malabon Regional Trial Court ruling of allowing commercial fishers within the 15-kilometer municipal waters as it would accelerate depletion of fish stocks at the expense of small fishers.
