THE quad committee’s citation of contempt of lawyer Zuleika Lopez, chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte in the Office of the Vice President (OVP), is an excessive use of the contempt power given by the Constitution to Congress.
Misplaced and flimsy
The ground for the imposition of five-day incarceration in the detention facility of the House of Representatives was Lopez’s letter to the Commission on Audit requesting the latter to hold in abeyance the release of certain audit reports relative to the confidential expenses of the OVP in 2022 and 2023 that were subpoenaed by the legislative committee, on the ground that the COA has yet to make a final decision on the matter covered by the notice of disallowance it issued to the OVP. Lopez argued that the premature disclosure of the audit reports would impair the right of the OVP to a fair hearing, apart from its potential violation of the principle of separation of powers.
To the mind of the probing committee, the letter sent by Undersecretary Lopez was an “undue interference” in the congressional body’s power to investigate in aid of legislation. The ground relied upon to impose a five-day detention on VP Sara’s chief of staff is misplaced as it is flimsy.
The Lopez letter did not stop the committee from conducting its investigation. Neither did the communication stop the Commission on Audit from complying with the subpoena, nor did the quad committee fail to get the demanded documents. So, where is the undue interference on the power of the congressional committee to investigate?
It is more appropriate to say that the contempt citation against Undersecretary Lopez was an interference and a violation of the due process requirement, to which the Office of the Vice President is entitled in the matter that is the subject of the investigation.
Given that the legislative committee has been overly generous in exercising its power of contempt, it is unavoidable to view the latter’s action as zeroing in on the hapless staff of VP Sara and punishing her for failing to compel her immediate superior to attend the committee’s hearings.
COA’s exclusive powers
The OVP cannot be subjected to an inquiry by a legislative body on a matter that is precisely the subject of an investigation by a constitutional commission mandated to inquire into the regularity and legality of disbursements of public funds.
To allow such undertaking is to encroach on the exclusive “power, authority and duty” of the Commission on Audit under Article IX, Section 2(1) of the Constitution, “to examine, audit, and settle all accounts pertaining to the revenues and receipts of, and expenditures, or uses of funds and property, owned or held in trust by, or pertaining to, the Government, or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, including owned or controlled corporations, xxx “
Abuse of authority
Ordering the transfer of Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez from the House of Representatives detention facility to the Correctional Institution for Women, a detention center for convicted criminals and suspected criminals facing trial, is a patent abuse of authority.
Enforcing such an order in the dead of night, pending resolution of a motion for reconsideration of the contempt citation, is a brazen and naked assault on the dignity of the person of Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez.
She is a lawyer, an officer of the court and a respected member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
She is not a convicted criminal nor a suspected criminal, not being charged with a criminal offense. She is a woman of good reputation.
Appearing at the quad committee hearing, she was the epitome of decorum, with respectful language and ethical conduct. She responded to the questions of the committee members in a clear and non-evasive manner.
Yet, she was treated rudely and crudely, deprived of her rights. Alone in her detention room, her privacy was invaded, harassed by House and uniformed personnel who were forcibly trying to uproot her from the detention quarters at an ungodly hour, scaring her and causing her to have fits of hysterics, her frail body giving in, puking several times, and finally losing consciousness.
She was rushed to the hospital, where she is now confined, a nervous wreck, traumatized by the dreadful ordeal she went through.
She cries in anguish: “Wala ng batas dito sa bansang ito!” (There is no more law in this country!)
