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By Jomar Canlas, Reporter
HIGH ranking officials of the Office of the
Special Prosecutor on Friday finally broke their silence and openly
asked Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio to resign from the
Office of the Ombudsman.
According to Prosecutor John Turalba,
Villa-Ignacio has caused problems within the special prosecutor
office along with his daughter, Monica.
“What’s happening in our office [of the
special prosecutor] is affecting the whole Office of the
Ombudsman,” Turalba said in a press conference.
“It is our boss [Villa-Ignacio] who
demoralizes our office,” Special Prosecutor Jesus Micael added.
Fiscal Wendell Sulit even said that
Villa-Ignacio’s daughter, Monica, even shouts at and berates the
prosecutors of the Ombudsman.
Prosecutor Ben Uy said that he is now waiting
for Villa-Ignacio to fulfill his promise to resign when the plunder
case of former President Joseph Estrada is terminated.
In response, Villa-Ignacio said that he will not
resign since it is only the disgruntled prosecutors who are
clamoring for his resignation.
House will not meddle
House speaker Prospero Nograles clarified that
legislators are not meddling in the conflict between Villa-Ignacio
and Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Navarro-Gutierrez.
Nograles added that it is better to settle
things internally rather than going to the media.
“What I’m saying is for Villa-Ignacio not to
destroy the institution. He should mind his work. He should not
attack us and drag other issues,” the Speaker said in an interview
with The Manila Times.
Villa-Ignacio is facing an estafa case filed
against him by Fiscal Elvira Chua of the Ombudsman’s internal
affairs board in March this year. Chua claims she filed the case on
her own.
In her complaint, Chua claimed that in 2004, she
gave Villa-Ignacio P26, 600 for the setting up of water pumps for
Typhoon Milenyo victims in Quezon province. But the funds were
allegedly donated to Gawad Kalinga.
Instead of filing his counter-affidavit,
Villa-Ignacio went to the media, and said that there is no reason to
hold him accountable on the matter.
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