Charice Pempengco
“I want to send a message to whoever killed my father… I am hoping justice will be served, not just for my father but for other people as well,” an emotional Charice told reporters at the arrival lobby of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 on Tuesday night.
Wearing a black polo shirt and pants, and sporting a blue bonnet and dark glasses, she arrived at the Naia Terminal 2 at around 11:45 p.m. from Jakarta via Philippine Airlines flight PR 311.
Fetched at the airport by her mother Raquel and manager Grace Mendoza, Charice was seen holding a small case containing a rosary.
The mother and daughter were both in tears as they held each other in a tight embrace when they saw each other at the airport.
Appearance canceled
The 19-year-old singer had decided to cancel her scheduled appearance in the David Foster & Friends tour so she could pay her last respects to her slain father.
She was supposed to be at the Grand Theatre of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on November 2 to 3 for the show.
Suspect
She appealed to authorities to find the killer of her father, Ricky, 43, a construction worker who died from two stab wounds in the chest after an altercation with another man on a street in Laram village, San Pedro, Laguna province, just before midnight on Monday.
Police are still searching for the suspect, Angel Capili, 35, a former resident of the village who had moved out in 2005 but was visiting friends on Monday.
Authorities were preparing murder charges and will distribute public photographs of a man they said was intoxicated when he became angry after Ricky brushed against him, San Pedro town police chief Kirby Kraft said.
Pempengco was buying cigarettes from a store when he was stabbed with an ice pick. The suspect fled the following morning after talking to his mother about the killing, Kraft said, adding the police had at least two witnesses.
Reward for arrest
Police and local officials offered a P200,000 reward leading to the suspect’s arrest.
Charice said that although she had not seen her father for years, they still had a “great short relationship.”
“We may not have been able to really bond as a father-daughter, but we still had a great short relationship. And for me, him being my dad is the most beautiful memory,” she said in tears.
Violence separated parents
Charice was a toddler when her parents separated. It has been widely reported in the entertainment media that the breakup was caused by the father’s violent and abusive behavior.
The singer said the thought that she was separated from her father because of violence and seeing him again after his violent death really pained her.
“The last time I saw him, there were violent things that happened when I was about 3 or 4. Now I’m deeply sad thinking that I will see him for the last time because of this violent incident that happened to him,” she said.
Before her arrival, Charice mourned her father in a post on Twitter on Tuesday.
Apparently agitated at some private messages from her father’s siblings, Charice, in one of her Twitter posts, lashed out at them. She accused them of being responsible for keeping her away from her father.
Ironed out
But during her press briefing at Naia, the singing sensation said the disagreements between her family and relatives of her father had been ironed out.
“I just want to say that as of now, everything is OK,” she said.
“About my tweets… [they’re] just me being a defensive daughter because I couldn’t be quiet anymore,” she added. “But as of now everything is OK. We already talked to the relatives of my dad; everything has been ironed out. We just want everything to be OK for my father.”
Apology to fans
Charice reiterated her apology to her fans from Singapore for canceling her performance at the David Foster concert.
“I hope you all understand. I just want to be with my family during these times,” she said. With a report from Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon