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Zuleika T. Lopez

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Zuleika T. Lopez
Lopez in 2023
Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 26, 2022
Vice PresidentSara Duterte
Preceded byPhilip Dy
Davao City Administrator
In office
July 31, 2016[1] – June 30, 2022
MayorSara Duterte
Preceded byJesus Melchor Quitain
Succeeded byFrancis Mark Layog
In office
July 6, 2010 – August 4, 2010
MayorSara Duterte
Preceded byWendel Avisado
Succeeded byZuleika T. Lopez (acting)
Davao City Administrator
Acting
In office
August 4, 2010 – June 30, 2013
MayorSara Duterte
Preceded byZuleika T. Lopez
Succeeded byJhopee Avanceña-Agustin[2]

Zuleika T. Lopez, also known by the initials ZTL,[3] is a Filipino lawyer and government official currently serving as the Chief of Staff at the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines under Sara Duterte. She previously served as city administrator of Davao City during Duterte's mayorship and as city council secretary during Duterte's vice mayorship. She also served as a graft investigator at the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao prior to entering Davao City government.

Early life

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Zuleika Lopez was born to jurist and lawyer Jose B. Lopez (1943–2012), a member of the Bagobo tribe.[4]

Career

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Lopez was among the first employees to be hired at the University of the Philippines Mindanao after its establishment in 1995, where she was information officer.[5] She also worked at the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao (OMB-MIN) as graft investigator and prosecution officer up to 2007.[5][6][7]

Davao City staff member (2007–2013; 2016–2022)

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In 2007, Lopez was hired as the Davao City Council secretary under the vice mayorship of Sara Duterte.[5] When Duterte was elected mayor in 2010, Lopez was soon considered for the position of city administrator due to her satisfying Duterte's requirement that the role be filled by a lawyer and not a politician; she was subsequently appointed as city administrator on July 6, 2010.[8][9][5] Her office as a government official was noted to conspicuously sport the color pink in its design.[5][3]

Less than a month into her appointment as city administrator, Lopez's position was scrutinized by the city council led by then-vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Sara's father, who argued that she did not qualify to be administrator as she had yet to serve the minimum five years in an administrative or managerial position as required by the Local Government Code prior to her appointment.[10][6] In response, Mayor Sara Duterte withdrew her request for the council's concurrence in appointing Lopez, stating that her office will first "gather all the documents to support the qualifications of Attorney Lopez" and relegating Lopez to an acting capacity instead.[11][12] Duterte also released various statements threatening to halt engagements between city hall and the city council based on the latter's actions, stating that the council "should learn to respect" her office as mayor,[6] and shared in a radio interview that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) had already expressed its approval of Lopez prior to her appointment.[6]

By August 7, 2010, Lopez took an indefinite leave as acting city administrator, with assistant city administrator Erwin Alparaque taking over the position temporarily.[6] By November, Lopez had returned as city administrator in an acting capacity,[13] a position she held until Duterte's first mayoral term ended in 2013.[14]

Upon Duterte's election to a second term in 2016, Lopez was once again appointed city administrator, which she held until 2022.[14]

With a position traditionally considered as the "little mayor",[5] Lopez had sizable authority in Duterte's mayoral office as city administrator, with her being credited in the implementation of Duterte's agenda and the handling of problems within every department at city hall.[14] She also enforced a "Do Not Bring Work at Home" policy to avoid overworking among the city staff.[3]

Chief of Staff to the Vice President, 2022–present

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After Sara Duterte was elected Vice President of the Philippines in 2022, Lopez represented Duterte in the transition meeting with outgoing Vice President Leni Robredo in early June.[15] Soon after assuming office, Duterte decided to appoint four of her previous Davao City staff members, including Lopez, to her team at the Office of the Vice President (OVP);[16] Lopez's appointment as the OVP Chief of Staff was announced through Duterte's Facebook page on July 26, 2022.[16]

In September 2023, Lopez assisted Duterte in defending her use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) during the plenary deliberations for the 2024 national budget.[14] During a September 2024 hearing by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability as chaired by Rep. Joel Chua, former undersecretary Gloria J. Mercado of the Department of Education (DepEd) alleged that Lopez was responsible in instructing her to resign in late October 2023 based on secretary Duterte's request for Mercado's immediate resignation, despite Lopez having no assigned position at DepEd herself.[17] On November 3, 2024, Chua asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an immigration lookout bulletin order (ILBO) against Lopez and six other OVP officials for continuously snubbing his committee's hearings regarding the OVP's alleged misuse of funds.[18] However, by the evening of November 4, Lopez was able to leave the Philippines by boarding a plane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) headed to Los Angeles, California. On the following day, she along with six other OVP staff released a position paper that asks the committee to terminate its inquiry into their office's fund use, claiming that its hearings are "not in aid of legislation" and "violative of the rights of resource persons."[19]

Personal life

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In April 2017, Lopez underwent surgery to remove gallstones found in her gallbladder, which she attributed to processed foods she had been eating while maintaining her tight work schedule.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Lopez returns as Davao City Administrator". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. August 1, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2024. Lopez already presided over the weekly meeting of City Hall's department heads yesterday [July 31].
  2. ^ Araneta, Tomas Gerardo (July 29, 2013). "P13-M set for Kadayawan Festival 2013". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Zuleika Lopez achieves Work-Life Balance with an Attitude of Gratitude" (PDF). The Public Manager. 31 (1). Career Executive Service: 15–16. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Villa-Abrille, Nonoy (January 6, 2013). "Judge Lopez buried". SunStar Davao. SunStar Publishing Inc. p. 7. Judge Lopez, father of city administrator Zuleika Lopez and younger brother of former Davao City mayor and third District Rep. Elias B. Lopez, passed away on December 29[, 2012...]
  5. ^ a b c d e f Carillo, Lovely A. (August 2, 2010). "Sara's new 'centurions'". Edge Davao. Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e JCZ (August 10, 2010). "Acting city admin goes on indefinite leave". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Balane, Walter I. (January 10, 2007). "Graft cases in Mindanao rise in run up to 2007 polls". MindaNews. Mindanao Institute of Journalism. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Biliran, Rico (July 7, 2010). "Improve services, Sara urge department heads". MindaNews. Mindanao Institute of Journalism. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Zaldivar, Jade C. (June 8, 2010). "Lopez among 3 eyed as city admin". SunStar Davao. SunStar Publications Inc. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. 'I have no preference to gender, but (he or she) should not be a politician. I believe that a politician will have divided interests. I want a deputy who is not interested in pogi points,' [Sara] Duterte said.
  10. ^ Maxey, Charles Raymond A. (August 3, 2010). "Duterte: Lopez not fit for city admin post". SunStar Davao. SunStar Publications Inc. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Vice Mayor [Rodrigo] Duterte requested Councilor Victorio Advincula Jr. to temporarily preside over the proceedings so the vice mayor can personally participate in the discussion on the floor.
  11. ^ Zaldivar, Jade C.; Tesiorna, Ben O. (August 4, 2010). "Council questioning out of line: Duterte". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  12. ^ Paloma, Jereco O. (August 29, 2010). "No tiff with mayor, vice mayor says". SunStar Davao. SunStar Publications Inc. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010.
  13. ^ Zaldivar, Jade C. (November 26, 2010). "City gears for more festive Christmas celebration". SunStar Davao. SunStar Publications Inc. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010.
  14. ^ a b c d Montalvan II, Antonio J. (September 13, 2023). "A coach named Zuleika". Vera Files. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Llemit, Ralph Lawrence G. (July 5, 2022). "Duterte's Chief of staff appointed as city admin; Former tourism head joins OVP". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Llemit, Ralph Lawrence G. (July 27, 2022). "Former city admin is VP Duterte's Chief of Staff". SunStar. SunStar Publications Inc. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  17. ^ Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (September 25, 2024). "Ex-DepEd exec: VP Duterte's staff asked me to resign over purchase issue". Inquirer News. Manila, Philippines: INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  18. ^ Andrade, Jeannette I. (November 4, 2024). "House panel seeks lookout order on 7 OVP officials". Inquirer News. Manila, Philippines: INQUIRER.net. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  19. ^ Ombay, Giselle (November 5, 2024). "OVP officials skip House budget use probe anew". GMA News Online. GMA Network Inc. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
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