Easy passage no more

After a standoff triggered by Vice President Sara Duterte’s attempt to keep her detained chief of staff Zuleika Lopez from getting transferred to the Correctional Institution for Women, the House of Representatives finally settled for hospital detention for the latter.

The Presidential Security Command has been alerted following an "active threat" to the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, the Presidential Communications Office announced on Saturday, November 23.

Vice President Sara Duterte intervened to stop the transfer of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) after visiting her detention late at night on Friday, November 22. 

Vice President Sara Duterte's chief of staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, was rushed to the hospital early Saturday after falling ill as the House of Representatives ordered her transfer to the Correctional Institute for Women.

Vice President Sara Duterte intends to spend her weekend with her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez at the House of Representatives premises, where the latter has been detained since Wednesday after being cited in contempt by a committee investigating Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.