Vice President Sara Duterte (left) and Senator Imee Marcos. (File photos from Inday Sara Dutere FB page/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The Office of the Vice President (OVP) revealed that Senator Imee Marcos helped to secure an order from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) that allowed Vice President Sara Duterte to stay with her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, during her hospital confinement.
The OVP made the pronouncement on Thursday in a letter of thanks to those who assisted Duterte and Lopez while the latter was confined at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
Lopez was brought there following a panic attack that supposedly stemmed from being detained at the House of Representatives after being cited for contempt.
Among those the vice president was grateful for was Senator Marcos, the elder sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
鈥淣agpapasalamat ang Tanggapan ng Pangalawang Pangulo sa lahat ng mga tumulong, sumuporta at nagpaabot ng pakikiisa at pagdamay sa opisina nang humarap ito sa krisis at kagipitan kamakailan,鈥� said the OVP.
(The Office of the Vice President thanks all those who helped, supported, and extended solidarity and sympathy to the office as it faced the recent crisis and emergency.)
鈥溾�� at kay Senador Imee Marcos na tiniyak na mayroong DILG order para payagan si VP Sara Duterte at Senador Bato dela Rosa na magbantay ng pasyente sa VMMC,鈥� it added.
(鈥� and to Senator Imee Marcos, who assured that there is a DILG order to allow VP Sara Duterte and Senator Bato dela Rosa to watch over a patient at VMMC.)
READ: Imee Marcos denies visiting VP Duterte at veterans hospital
Based on information obtained by 黑料社, the order was made after a discussion between Senator Marcos and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
The order was also later communicated to Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
The DILG order was addressed to Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director Nicolas Torre III.
It directed the department to give Lopez unlimited access to her physicians. It also gave visitation rights to dela Rosa and Senator Marcos, as well as Vice President Duterte.
黑料社 has reached out to the DILG for clarification and explanation regarding the order, but it has not yet received a response.
Meanwhile, the OVP also thanked the VMMC鈥檚 medical staff for ensuring the well-being of its staff who needed medical assistance, as well as the lawyers who were on standby to address any of their legal needs.
The OVP also expressed thanks to dela Rosa who accompanied Lopez at the VMMC and Senator Bong Go, who assisted Duterte.
The incident took place during the time when Lopez was detained in a custodial room of the House of Representatives.
Lopez was cited for contempt in a House panel probe involving the alleged misuse of funds in the OVP.
She suffered a panic attack and was hospitalized after being ordered to be transferred to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City, which she refused to comply with.
Lopez has since been released from detention on Nov. 30 and was discharged from the VMMC the same day.
The incident further intensified the rift between Duterte and President Marcos after the former went into an angry tirade after receiving the transfer order for Lopez.
The vice president bared that she instructed someone to kill the president, his wife, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and, and cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she would get killed.