Hundreds of supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte held a prayer rally in Davao City on Saturday evening.
In Davao City, hundreds of supporters of the vice president held a candle-lighting and prayer rally to show their support for the vice president and for her protection amid the crisis she is currently facing.
The rally was joined by Dabawenyos including Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr., Davao City Councilors, barangay officials, and various sectors.
Meanwhile, supporters of the vice president also held a vigil and lit candles in front of Veterans Memorial Medical Center on Saturday.
The vice president’s supporters prayed for a change in the current system of government.
To recall, the vice president opted to stay in the hospital to accompany Lopez, who collapsed due to stress and trauma at the facility of HoR on Friday while being detained after she was cited contempt by ACT Teacher’s Party-list Representative France Castro for “undue interference” in the House’s investigation into the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on November 19.
According to the OVP, the HOR sent nine personnel, including police officers, and entered Lopez’s detention room to serve the transfer order for her to be transferred to the Women’s Correctional.
This made Lopez emotional and refused to comply questioning the legality of her transfer, emphasizing that she was not accused or convicted of any crime. She also highlighted that her detention was only meant to last until Monday for the resumption of the hearing.
When Lopez requested for her lawyers to be present, the police refused to allow them inside and this is the reason why the vice president stepped in and acted as one of the lawyers and supported Lopez’s decision to stay within the HOR premises. Their phones were also confiscated by the police.
Lopez, who has scoliosis, experienced severe back pain, shortness of breath, and fainted. She also became unresponsive and displayed deadweight as attempts were made to keep her awake.
On the early morning of Wednesday, Lopez was rushed to the hospital accompanied by the vice president.
At the hospital, over 100 police officers surrounded Duterte and Lopez.
On Saturday, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who led the crackdown on Pastor Apollo Quiboloy in Davao City in September this year, also arrived at the hospital to bring Lopez to the correctional facility.
