Saturday, September 22, 2007 Public service, not new concept to council secretary By Grace L. Plata
SHE'S gregarious, witty, vivacious and candid.
These are but few of the words that can be used to describe lawyer Zuleika T. Lopez, the newly appointed secretary of the City Council.
Public service is not a new concept to Zuleika, better known to family and friends as "Lyca". The lady lawyer comes a family that has been known in local politics for decades.
She is the niece of the late mayor Elias B. Lopez and Lyca, just like her uncle, places a lot of stock on integrity, transparency, and accountability.
Lyca, however, did not grow up in Davao. She and her family headed straight for the nation's capital after she graduated from the Ateneo de Davao University Grade School.
She finished high school in the exclusive St. Scholastica College and went on to get a Bachelor's Degree in Communication at the University of the Philippines in Diliman with a full scholarship.
Like Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and his daughter, Vice-Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, Lyca is a product of the San Beda Law School. As a law undergrad, she worked as a legal researcher for the Quisumbing-Torres Law Firm in Makati until she finished law school.
She became one of the firm's associates after being admitted to the Philippine Bar on March 20, 2003.
But feeling she was burnt out from harsh demands of her job, Lyca came home to Davao and thought of applying for a position in the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao.
"At first, they said I needed three years of legal experience for my application to be considered so I opted to look around for firms that I can work with. I was with Dominguez, Paderna, and Tan Law Office already when the Ombudsman's office called me up to say I can work with them on a probationary basis which I agreed to take," Lyca said.
Working with the office of the Ombudsman as Graft investigation and Prosecution Officer, Lyca was awarded Most Outstanding Employee for 2006 -- a testimony to her diligence and dedication to her job.
"I was really happy where I was and I never thought I'd switch jobs at all," Lyca said.
The offer to work as secretary to the City Council came from a fellow San Beda Alumni, the vice mayor.
"I was 2 years ahead of her batch but syempre coming from the same place, we gravitated towards each other. We were both active in academic activities that's why we really got to know each other. Pagbalik ko dito, nagkita naman kami and that's when she invited me to join the local government," Lyca recalled.
Loving her job, she admitted it took her several months to decide but a consultation with her mentor and friend, she finally decided to take the job.
"I have a lot of catching up to do so the first order of the day is to learn the ropes," Lyca said.
She attended the City Council session last Tuesday to get a feel of how things work and so far, she said all is going well especially with the support of her colleagues.
When she gets settled in, Lyca plans to check on the progress of the codification of the city's ordinances so researchers would have easy access to them and to avoid duplication of laws.
"The vice mayor has talked to me about it and I am going to do the best I can to realize it soonest," Lyca said.
Aside from her legal practice, Lyca is also a budding entrepreneur. She has a bookshop that also sells handmade accessories.
"The store is called Books Plus. Merong books for rent at well as kikay accesories na ginagawa namin ng friend ko. Ako kasi, kikay din talaga. I love these things," Lyca said.
As for food, this lady lawyer said she prefers Provencal (French) cuisine though she laughingly admits not knowing how to cook at all.
