The burning question of the day was — who is Zuleika Lopez? There was an attempt by this writer to write about her in the recent past. But that was because another demeanor we had seen of Sara Duterte had caught our attention.
In the September 2023 Senate hearing of the budget of the vice president, Risa Hontiveros asked the most pertinent questions when the others had yielded to a deferential treatment of her. Risa’s questions on confidential funds were on point. One can see Sara getting irritated.
What caught my attention was a lady sitting beside her. She had a neat coiffure and was wearing pearl earrings. She was whispering to Sara what to answer for every question. That meant one thing – not only was she her coach, this lady was running the show in the office of the vice president. That was how indispensable she was to a non-working vice president.
It was only later that I had learned she was Zuleika Lopez, a lawyer from Davao City who came from the family of its late mayor Elias Lopez.
Immediately after the article was published, friends from Davao City began messaging me. All pointed to one detail that I had not written – Zuleika was more than just a chief of staff.
That “more” I cannot even mention here. Public opinion writing does not include arousing the salacious interests of readers. This past week, questions from social media netizens were incessant about the Sara-Zuleika relationship. Obviously, Ramon Tulfo, who wrote about the relationship triggered it.
Readers were asking if I would write what Tulfo had written about. And the outright answer was NO. We who aim for truth telling under a fact-checking publication like VERA Files cannot write based on rumors. Besides, who among our Davao City friends would be willing to be quoted without retribution from the vengeful Dutertes?
Sara announcing her hiring of killer to assassinate BBM and two more
This latest episode of Sara raging at dawn in the darkness of Zuleika’s detention room presented so much challenge to the rule of law. She confessed to having contracted a killer to assassinate the president, the first lady and the speaker of the House. She laced her howling with so many put_ng ina. She offered the information that money meant for bribery in the Department of Education was provided to her by the first lady.
In short, what she wanted was upmanship. Her trust ratings had been plummeting. She had lost her confidential funds. The public has been calling her the worst names alluding to her profligacy. In the House and in the senate, investigations were endless on the culpability of her father in extrajudicial killings. Using the fire and brimstone of her father, however crude and rude, she had probably thought she could still salvage her former popularity.
But as it turned out, that grand meltdown was just a prelude. As she became the talk of the town, she thickened the plot. Zuleika was being detained “illegally.” The House had attempted to confine her in the Women’s Correctional in Mandaluyong.
Perhaps congressman Joel Chua and the members of the House Committee on Good Government lost their PR on that. The real reason for the transfer was because Sara was intruding into the House Custodial Center and was breaking visitation rules. Had Zuleika been moved to Mandaluyong, Sara would not have been able to enter the inmates’ quarters of the correctional. That was the logic of the House transfer order.
We now see the essential Sara, that when she goes into a rampage from her temper tantrums, her goal is to manipulate the situation to force her perceived enemies to bow down to her every whim. She is indeed a classic case of a narcissistic personality disorder.
And with that, she was able to successfully maneuver herself out of the incriminating evidences coming out of the House hearings. She segued into the paawa effect. Zuleika was “suffering.” This government was “oppressive.” For the last, candlelighting events were organized by her Maisug family in Manila, Cebu and Davao. All three did not gather significant warm bodies to oust in a people power the sitting president. The one in Davao served hot meals to entice attendees.
But how can the unpopular political operator Malou Tiquia attract crowds?
Leaving St. Luke’s hospital on Sunday November 24, Sara saw a convenient window to spread her sympathy card. The police general Nicolas Torre was there to read the order to transfer Zuleika to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. She asked the general to please allow the media to come forward and pan their cameras on Zuleika. Torre obliged and gave the order to media – “para makita sa cameras” (so the cameras can see Zuleika).
On cue, Sara then approached Zuleika who clung tightly to her, even clutching at her. And Zuleika began to wail “huwag mo akong iiwan” (do not leave me). The ever-ready Duterte lieutenant Bato dela Rosa then joined in the scene by stroking Zuleika’s back.
Sara’s script was a success.
It was a success because it had completely obliterated the fact that the reason St. Luke’s released Zuleika was because it pronounced her fit and well – there was nothing wrong with her.
It was a success because it completely overtook the news that P37M of her confidential funds was issued to only one payee – Edward Fajarda who withdrew the amount without any security, toting the huge cash in duffel bags like a hold- upper would. That was how cavalier Sara’s office was to state funds.
It was a success because it made us forget that four officials of the DepEd (Gloria Mercado, Resty Osias, Michael Wesley Poa, Rhunna Catalan) had confessed that they had received bribe money on regular basis from Edward’s wife Sunshine Charry Fajarda, who at each distribution would tell the receiver – this is from the vice president.
It was a success because it brought us on a momentary amnesia about Mary Grace Piattos, that contrived name from a chichiriya brand that her confidential fund liquidators surely faked to convince the state auditors that the money had been used in its stated objective.
And worst of all – we forgot where the money went.
Sara Duterte and all her thieving subalterns must be brought before the bar of justice, she ideally in an impeachment court where upon conviction she will be perpetually banned from public office.
Or shall we wait for more temper tantrums so that she can alter our minds from thinking about the danger that she is to our democratic ideals?
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
