The family of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was not in favor of her decision to resign from the post she had been holding for the past six years, her daughter said on Friday.
"Ayaw namin talaga siya mag-resign... talagang lahat kami against it (We didn't want her to resign. We were all against it)," Gutierrez's lawyer daughter Margarita said in an interview aired over GMA News TV.
Gutierrez announced her resignation on Friday, 10 days before the Senate impeachment trial against her was to start.
The case was elevated to the Senate after the House of Representatives impeached Gutierrez for alleged betrayal of public trust due to the low conviction rates and her supposed inaction on five high-profile cases during the Arroyo administration.
Margarita said that although they were having a hard time, they wanted the former Ombudsman to continue with the trial, believing that their defense had merit.
"Gusto namin ipakita sa tao na wala siyang kasalanan. Alam namin malalaban namin ito (We want to show the people that she did not do anything wrong. We know we would have been able to fight it)," she said.
She explained that they would have been able to prove that her mother did not sit on the cases enumerated on the articles of impeachment.
"Talagang maayos siya, na wala talagang delays sa mga trabaho niya (She was doing her job well, there were no real delays)," she said.
But Margarita said that flak from critics and the public eventually took a toll on Gutierrez and their family, which eventually led the public official to step down from office.
"Sobra na, sobra na talaga. Parang mahihirapan kami ioverturn yung public perception (It was just too much. We knew we would have a hard time overtuning public perception)," she said.
She likewise said that the former Ombudsman did not want the Senate to focus on her trial instead of its legislative work.
But Margarita noted that despite her mother's "tough" appearance, she was hurt and saddened by what happened.
She said that Gutierrez will probably rest after finishing her remaining work at the Office of the Ombudsman.
Her resignation will take effect on May 6 but her term was supposed to end in December 2012 yet.
Senators, however, earlier said that Gutierrez is not yet safe from other possible charges that may be filed against her. — RSJ, GMA
