Photo: Office of the Vice President 

MANILA, Philippines – After months of hiatus, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, chief-of-staff and longtime aide of Vice President Sara Duterte, was spotted at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) prompting rumors that she is now back on duty.

Based on the photos shared by the OVP, the Vice President personally attended the flag ceremony on Monday, February 3 for an election voting dry run as well as an oath taking of new officials of the Office of the Vice President Employees’ Association (OVPEA). 

Lopez, who was seen attending the ceremony, was wearing her uniform and id and was all smiles in photos together with other OVP officials.  

The OVP has not issued a statement yet if Lopez is indeed back to work.

In November 2024, Lopez has expressed intentions to resign following her controversial detention after being cited in contempt by the House of Representatives for her supposed “undue interference” in the investigation about Duterte’s alleged misuse of OVP and Department of Education confidential funds. 

Lopez fell ill and was admitted to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center after an order to transfer her from the House detention facility to the women’s correctional in Mandaluyong City. 

An emotional Lopez faced the media decrying the supposed injustice being done to her by transferring her to another facility in the middle of the night. 

Duterte even said the removal of Lopez from the House detention facility was a clear “attempted homicide” because “she feared for her life.” 

Lopez denied knowledge on how the OVP utilizes its confidential funds stating that her role is only to oversee and ensure that the programs of the office are being implemented – a reason many congressmen did not accept.