'Lack of respect': VP Sara defies House orders to leave, triggers lockdown
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte defied orders to leave the Batasang Pambansa complex Thursday night, November 21, choosing instead to stay in her brother's office overnight despite repeated appeals from the House of Representatives' sergeant-at-arms.
Duterte's refusal to leave the premises after visiting her detained chief-of-staff forced the House to implement a security lockdown to secure the building where she remained until Friday morning, according to a statement from House leaders on Friday, November 22.
"Even though our sergeant-at-arms asked her several times to leave, she ignored it, which is why we implemented a lockdown for everyone's safety and the protection of the institution," House leaders said in a joint statement Friday.
Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District), chairperson of the House good government panel, characterized Duterte's behavior as a "lack of respect in the institution" of the House.
"It's clear that [Duterte] only does what she wants," Chua said in mixed English and Filipino at a press conference.
Retired PMGen. Napoleon Taas, the House sergeant-at-arms, said the forced lockdown was a first for the House since at least July 2022 when he first took on the role.
Unplanned overnight stay
Taas shared the House's official account of the incident at a press conference on Friday.
Duterte visited her detained chief of staff Zuleika Lopez at the House's visitor center, where they spoke until Thursday at 10 p.m.
After the visit, the vice president's convoy suddenly diverted to the complex that houses the office of her brother, Rep. Paolo Duterte, instead of leaving through the South Gate as expected, Taas said.
"We were all assuming she would start turning right, exiting the House of Representatives. However, her convoy went straight ahead, heading towards the South Wing Annex," Taas recalled.
"We were informed that the VP will just change using the room of the Hon. Pulong Duterte. And so, we waited," he said, referring to Duterte's brother, Paolo Duterte.
After over an hour, Taas personally appealed to Duterte's team at around 11:30 p.m. to leave room 304, explaining that the House routinely shuts down power every Thursday night for the weekend.
Despite the appeal, Duterte's close-in security team remained locked inside her brother's office past midnight until Friday morning, Taas said.
By Friday morning, after coordinating with Chua, Duterte was allowed to visit Lopez again at the House detention facility at 11:07 a.m.
Preventing a 'bad precedent'
Chua revealed that Duterte had earlier requested in writing to stay with Lopez for the duration of her detention, which they rejected.
The vice president said she wanted to accompany Lopez due to her physical ailments, including chronic back problems, migraines, nausea, lightheadedness, and fatigue from jet lag. She also expressed anxiety about Lopez's security, particularly her fear of being alone with other detainees.
Chua said the House could not grant the vice president special treatment.
"Bad precedent po pag pinayagan po natin. At siyempre ayaw naman po natin magbigay ng favor, gusto naman po natin pantay-pantay po lahat," Chua said.
(It would be a bad precedent if we allowed it. And of course we don't want to give favors, we want everyone to be equal.)
Chua said there is also a high-security risk with having the country's second-highest official stay for a prolonged time at the Batasang Pambansa complex.
He believes Duterte's actions had shown a "lack of respect" to the House, noting that she continues to ignore requests to leave her brother's office. "We are officials, we should be careful with our actions... It will reflect on our character," he added.
Under standard rules, visiting hours at the House are limited from 8 to 11 in the morning and 1 to 5 in the afternoon, Monday to Thursday, during "non-working days." On days that House lawmakers hold session, the hours can be extended until 7 p.m. Each visit is also limited to two hours. No visits are allowed on weekends.
Taas said Duterte arrived past the normal visiting hours at Batasan Thursday night at around 7:45 p.m.
Integrity
In a joint statement on Friday, House Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe and House Deputy Speaker David Suarez said the chamber's facilities should not be abused by others for their personal use.
"We would like to remind everyone, especially government officials, that we have rules and protocols in place... to ensure security and order. These are not to be violated lightly, no matter who the person is," they said in Filipino.
The House leaders vowed to prevent a repeat of the incident. "We will further strengthen the policies, ensure they are implemented equally, and protect the integrity of our institution," they said.
On Wednesday, Lopez was ordered detained by the House good government panel until Monday, November 25, following a motion by House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro. She made the motion after learning about Lopez's letter to the Commission on Audit asking to block the release of its reports on the OVP's confidential funds to House lawmakers.
During earlier hearings, Lopez asked lawmakers to excuse her absence, saying she had to go to the United States to take care of her sick aunt.
Duterte has repeatedly snubbed the hearings of the House panel investigating her office's use of confidential funds. Instead, she has left it up to her OVP personnel, including Lopez, to field questions from lawmakers about the alleged misuse of her confidential funds at the OVP and Department of Education.
Lawmakers in recent hearings have flagged discrepancies in the receipts used to liquidate the OVP's confidential expenses, based on state auditors' findings. Duterte maintains that there was no misuse of funds and has repeatedly tagged the congressional probe as a way for her political opponents to eventually launch an impeachment complaint against her.
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