Point of no return

THE BROADER VIEW

- HARRY ROQUE

I really believe we reached the point of no return. It is clear they are going after me. They want to remove me to get the position.

Vice President Inday Sara Duterte said this during a press briefing at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) Western Mindanao Satellite Office in Zamboanga City last Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. This sentiment probably sums up the breathtaking events that began exactly a week ago, Nov. 23, seen on my Facebook Live and played by almost a million people in just seven days.

My position on the incident in Batasan is clear and unequivocal: I stand solidly behind VP Sara and her chief of staff, Zuleika "Lyka" Lopez. Atty. Lyka, as some of you may already know, is an indigenous people (IP) lawyer. Her father, Jose B. Lopez, is one of the country's few IPs to become a judge. She served as information officer at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao and graft investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao prior to her entry to the Davao City Hall as city council secretary, and later, city administrator.

She has pretty much led a simple and quiet life until that eventful Wednesday night, Nov. 20, when she was cited in contempt by the House committee on good government and public accountability. The House of Representatives (HOR) has crossed the line and members of Congress have overstepped their bounds and have usurped the role of our courts.

It is, indeed, an OnliInDaPilipins moment when a convict of child abuse allied with the communists sent Atty. Lyka to detention.