Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Attorney Zuleika Lopez was rushed to the hospital after experiencing an ‘anxiety attack’ while inside the House of Representatives’ detention facility.
Lopez turned emotional when staff from the House Sergeant -at Arms served an order from the House panel for her transfer to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City.
She refused to follow the order instead she requested the Sergeant-at-Arms to leave her room while she needed to consult her lawyer.
Lopez immediately called Vice President Duterte who at that time was inside the office of her brother Representative Paolo Duterte.
When Duterte came in they went on the social media and held a virtual press conference participated in by pro Duterte vloggers and content creators. Lopez also took part in the press conference as she answered questions from their supporters.
The lawyer said she refused to be transferred to other facility as she fears for her life.
” Hindi lang to harassment this is a threat to my life. They gang up on you (me) in the middle of the night” Wala nang batas sa bansang ito kawawa naman ang mga Pilipino” Lopez said.
While narrating her experiences inside the detention facility Lopez broke down, cried and complained of chronic back ache and requested to be excused.
Lopez was brought to Veterans Memorial Medical Center but was later transferred to St Luke Medical Center in Quezon City.
The lawyer has been detained since Wednesday after she was cited in contempt for allegedly committing “undue interference” to the house panel’s probe on Duterte’s confidential funds.
Some house leaders do not want the Vice President to stay with Lopez inside the Batasang Pambansa Building as it has caused security breach to their institution.
The order to transfer Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women came after the house leaders decried Duterte’s presence in their compound beyond the visiting hours.
(SMNIphoto)
Abner is an award-winning journalist. He received the prestigious 2015 Titus Brandsma Award for Community Communication in the Philippines and participated in the 2016 International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the United States of America, sponsored by the US Embassy in the Philippines. Founder of WATCH NORTH COTABATO, a media-citizens’ transparency group. He worked as a correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and CNN Philippines. His experience in broadcasting includes anchoring for Brigada News FM in Kidapawan and General Santos City and Brigada News TV. He anchors Tira Brigada via 105.1 Brigada News FM Manila, Mondays-Saturdays.