The chief of staff of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Atty. Zuleika Lopez, was cited in contempt on Wednesday for undue interference in the conduct of proceedings during the sixth congressional hearing at the House of Representatives.
At the hearing of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, Lopez repeatedly failed to answer the committee members’ questions directly, which frustrated the interpellators.
This behavior prompted ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro to move to cite Lopez in contempt. Her motion was approved by Committee chairperson, Rep. Joel Chua.
“I move, Mister Chair, na nag-violate si Attorney Lopez dito sa ating proceedings, dun sa ating trabaho due to this Section 11, Letter F, undue interference in the conduct of proceedings. May I move to cite Attorney Lopez in contempt,” she said.
Before the motion, Castro had been questioning Lopez about a letter sent by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA). Lopez attempted to appeal to the committee but was unsuccessful.
“I would like to seek reconsideration of the recent resolution to cite me in contempt. For the record, it was a respectful request to the Commission on Audit. There was no intention to demand from them or to order them or to commandeer them to something they did not want to do… At the end of the day it is still the Commission on Audit who will decide best,” Lopez explained.
However, the letter, which was drafted by OVP assistant chief of staff Lemuel Ortonio and signed by Lopez, indicated the OVP’s intention to interfere with the proceedings. The OVP requested that the COA not comply with the subpoena issued by the committee, arguing that the subpoena violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers and infringed on Vice President Sara Duterte’s right to due process.
“Dito sa letter na ito, Mister Chair, may plano talaga ang Office of the Vice President na mag-interfere doon sa ating conduct ng proceedings. Dahil dito Mister Chair, I’m sorry, Attorney Lopez no, dahil ikaw yung nakapirma dito,” Castro said.
The OVP argued that the purpose of the letter was solely to “expose to the public the use of confidential funds” and that there was no legislative purpose behind this exposure.
“So, the only purpose as i-expose tingin mo walang dahilan bakit natin nira-raise itong confidential funds? Yung pag-e-expose natin ng confidential funds hindi lang ‘yan sa panahon natin,” Castro said.
“Are you commanding, are you demanding the COA na hindi sumunod duon sa subpoena? Kung hindi ito demanding, siga-siga ba ang OVP na utusan ang COA na hindi kami sundin?” she added.
Lopez strongly denied these claims, asserting that the letter was simply a “respectful” request to the COA.
“I truly apologize if there was something in that letter that slighted you. It was never my intention. I hope and I wish you would consider my apology. This is my personal apology. I would like to request members of the honorable committee to lift the contempt order,” Lopez said later in the session.
“The apology is accepted. However, in the totality of this discussion from 10 o’clock to now, nakita natin very evasive yung mga sagot ni Attorney Lopez. Nakita natin itong letter na ito, hindi lang itong letter na ito, yung totality ng discussions yung dahilan kung bakit natin minove to cinite siya in contempt. I stand by my motion,” Castro responded.
The motion was approved, and Lopez was ordered to remain in the House detention facility until the next hearing.
