MANILA, Philippines — A week since her hospitalization, Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff Zuleika Lopez was discharged from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) after the House ordered her release from detention, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) said.
“Usec. Zuleika T. Lopez left the VMMC compound around 6:30 p.m. earlier,” the OVP said in a statement on Saturday.
She had been confined at the VMMC since Nov. 23 after falling ill due to the House’s decision to move her to the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in the middle of the night from the House detention facility, where she was being held for contempt due to her supposed “undue interference” in the investigation into the confidential fund spending of the OVP.
Lopez’s supposed transfer to the CIW prompted Duterte to hold the late night virtual press conference, where she talked about contracting a “person to take revenge” if the President, First Lady and Speaker succeeded in their alleged assassination plot against her.
Because of the ordeal, Lopez expressed her intention to step down as the Vice President’s chief of staff after the House of Representatives concludes its hearings on Duterte’s confidential funds, citing the emotional strain of the process.
“She has not resigned yet, but she already expressed her decision to go on indefinite leave. So, once she is cleared, she will file an indefinite leave from the OVP,” Duterte told reporters.
The Vice President said special disbursement officer Gina Acosta – who was rushed to the VMMC two days after Lopez, would be transferred to another hospital.
Acosta fell ill while being questioned on her knowledge of signatories on receipts used to justify the disbursement of P125 million in confidential funds of the OVP in 2022.
Duterte said she would be attending the succeeding House inquiries on her offices’ confidential fund spending as part of her promise to ensure the safety of the OVP officials slated for questioning.
“Three resource persons from OVP expressed that they really feel safer and calmer if I’m there. My worry right now is we don’t have a chief of staff and her deputy is also affected. So, I’m the only one left in the office to do everything,” she added.
Duterte said she is currently managing the OVP’s day-to-day operations and yearend activities, including their budget utilization review and planning for budget spending starting Jan. 1, 2025.
She thanked all her supporters who had been camped at the EDSA Shrine and those who stayed outside the VMMC.