📷PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the names of Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) personnel allegedly involved in the “forced transfer” of Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez from Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) to St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) using a private ambulance.
This, as PNP will file charges against Vice President Sara Duterte, her security officers, and staff for alleged resistance and disobedience to authority and other offenses.
Video circulating online showed that VPSPG head Colonel Raymund Dante Lachica physically pushed and attacked the PNP doctor-in-charge during the transfer from VMMC to SLMC.
In a statement on Wednesday, November 27, PNP chief Police General Rommel Marbil said attempting to disobey lawful authority erodes the integrity of democratic institutions and the principle of equality before the law.
“We call upon everyone to respect legal processes and cooperate with authorities. As public servants, it is our duty to uphold the law and set an example. Resistance and disobedience to a person in authority not only violates the law but also undermines public trust,” Marbil said.
“We will ensure that due process is followed, and the law is enforced without bias. Let this serve as a reminder that justice must prevail, and no one is above the law,” Marbil added.
According to Marbil, Duterte and her staff could be held liable for “Resistance and Disobedience to a Person in Authority, along with other criminal and administrative offenses.”
Lopez fell ill early Saturday morning after the House ordered her transfer from its custodial facility at the Batasang Pambansa Complex to the Correctional Institution for Women.
She was rushed to VMMC, then moved to SLMC, and later returned to VMMC after being cleared by physicians on Saturday afternoon. Lopez was initially detained by the House for five days starting November 20.
Lopez is currently in the custody of the House of Representatives for another 5 days after being cited in contempt during a hearing on the OVP’s alleged misuse of confidential funds.
Duterte is also under investigation for a controversial press conference in which she disclosed a plan to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were to be killed. (TCSP)