The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Saturday ordered the release of Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, from detention.
The panel issued the release order in a document made public on Saturday, 10 days since Lopez was cited in contempt during the probe into Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.
In light of the release order, Lopez’s discharge from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City would now be determined by her doctors in accordance with her condition.
The aforementioned House committee previously moved to detain and cite Lopez in contempt due to “undue interference,” namely blocking the release of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential funds report in a letter to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Duterte’s aide was initially set to be detained for five days, but this was extended to 10 days total after Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro cited Lopez’s hearing absence.
