Ombudsman says she won't resign from post
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez on Thursday insisted that she will not quit her post despite the Senate blue ribbon committeeâs recommendation for her impeachment over the controversial plea bargain deal her office entered into with former military comptroller Carlos Garcia. Gutierrez explained that she only supported the Office of the Special Prosecutorâs findings on the Garcia case when she approved the plea bargain agreement, GMA Newsâ Chino Gaston said in a report over GMA News TV. The Ombudsman likewise reminded the senators that their job is to make laws and not to evaluate evidence. She, however, declined to further comment on the Senate panel report, since senators may sit as jurors if her impeachment case is approved at the House of Representative, the report said. Appointed in December 2005, Gutierrez's term will end in December 2012 unless she gets impeached by the House of Representatives and found guilty by the Senate.