The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is "burning
down" due to a quarrel between Dennis Villa-Ignacio's daughter and her
former best friend, Elvira Chua, deputy prosecutors revealed Friday.
"These troubles started with the rift between the daughter
of Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio’s daughter, Atty. Monica
Villa-Ignacio and Prosecutor Elvira Chua," Deputy Special Prosecutor
John Torralba told reporters at a press conference at the posh Club
Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City.
Torralba added: "They have been good friends. Unfortunately, for reasons we do not know, they had troubles and parted ways."
Related Stories
• ‘Ombudsman wants me out by all means’—Villa-Ignacio
• ‘They will have to shoot me’-Villa-Ignacio on ouster move
• Ombudsman conviction rate dips staff demoralized
• Case Versus Nani weak, doesn't include money laundering
• Ombudman Goes Solo
• The Street Ombudsman
Chua was the prosecutor who filed a estafa case against "the father."
In an interview over ANC television, Villa-Ignacio
confirmed that her daughter, who serves as her executive secretary, was
Chua’s best friend.
Villa-Ignacio said the friendship ended when his daughter realized that Chua had "other intentions… on the special prosecutor."
Torralba appeared before the press with eight other deputy
special prosecutors. The prosecutors called for a press conference amid
the intense rift between Villa-Ignacio and Ombudsman Merceditas
Gutierrez.
Villa-Ignacio said the press conference was part of the
special project for his ouster from the Office of the Special
Prosecutor.
He said all of the deputy special prosecutors who appeared
at the press briefing have been assigned, through an official order
issued "long, long ago," under Ombudsman Gutierrez.
‘Daughter has bad temper’
Deputy Special Prosecutor Wendell Barrera-Sulit said the
real problem in the OSP is Villa-Ignacio and, specially, her daughter
who allegedly has a temper.
"His daughter shouted at almost everyone if she is
displeased. She orders everybody as if she owns the office, as if we
were her minions," Sulit said.
She said she had an encounter with the daughter in March
2006 when she recommended her for a National Defense College
scholarship.
Sulit said the daughter got mad after learning of her
recommendation. She said the daughter shouted at her during a phone
conversation.
"I am an elder, anak are you shouting at me?" she recalled
telling the daughter. She said the reply was, "Walang anak, anak dito.
Ang tanda mo na you cannot follow instructions!"
Sulit said she informed Villa-Ignacio about the encounter and the special prosecutor promised to tell her daughter to apologize.
She said she went on leave because she was upset. While
she was on leave, she said Villa-Ignacio gathered all OSP employees and
informed them that she wanted his daughter to apologize, "even if Sulit
is the source of all evil."
Torralba told reporters that he was also a victim of the daughter’s temper.
He said the daughter learned about his complaint letter to Villa-Ignacio about undelivered computer units.
"The daughter got mad. She went to my room and berated us for what we did," he said.
Almost everybody in the OSP had encounters with the
daughter and several employees had resigned or were dismissed because
of this, Torralba said.
Expensive venue
Asked to comment on the press conference, Villa-Ignacio
said he was surprised to learn that the deputy special prosecutors were
holding the media briefing at Club Filipino.
"I did not know that the prosecutors are members of Club
Filipino, that is very surprising," he said, adding that he was
wondering who was "footing the bill" for the event.
He said that because the deputy special prosecutors have
been placed under the Office of the Ombudsman, "there would seem to be
a common denominator of the people attacking me."
He added that the officials who appeared at the press
conference "can be removed anytime" by the Ombudsman "even without
reason."
Villa-Ignacio came out as he suspects that his position is
being eyed by Malacañang. He said some quarters in government want him
out before his term ends in 2010.