AFTER her estranged father was slain late Monday evening,  international singing sensation Charice Pempengco expressed not only her grief but deep hurt at the harsh words of her dad’s kin who spoke harshly of the singer and her mother on television.

In an emotional outburst seen on national television, a sister of Charice’s father Ricky said they don’t expect any sympathy from Charice and her mother. "Siguro masaya na sila dahil wala na yung kapatid ko," she said before bursting into tears.

A smarting Charice quickly tweeted her reaction to her aunt’s outburst slamming Ricky’s relatives over their effort to widen the rift between her father and his family. It was them who did not want her to visit her father, she said.

"To my father's siblings, you have no right to say or guess how I feel. Who are you to say that I should be happy over the death of my own father. You're just his siblings and I am the daughter. Mother never stopped us from visiting daddy, but you wouldn't allow us," she said in Tagalog in her Twitter account. The posts were later deleted.

Charice’s father was ice-picked to death by his drunken former neighbor in San Pedro, Laguna shortly before midnight Monday, police said.

Ricky Pempengco, 39, was found slumped in an open canal along Bonifacio Street, Barangay Langgam in San Pedro 11:30 p.m. Monday, said Laguna Police Provincial Office director Senior Supt. Gilbert Cruz.

He said the victim sustained multiple ice-pick wounds in the back and chest.

Cruz said members of the San Pedro police headed by Supt. Kirby Kraft have launched a hunt for the suspected killer, Angel Capili, 35.

Capili disappeared shortly after the body of the victim was discovered.

A P100,000 reward was offered for information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect. San Pedro Mayor Calixto Cataquiz gave P50,000 while Laguna Governor Jeorge Ejercito Estregan Jr. offered P30,000. The remaining P20,000 came from the Laguna provincial police.        Witnesses said the victim had just come from a drinking spree with the suspect and was buying cigarettes at a store near his house in Bgy. Langgam when stabbed.

Kraft said the suspect used to live in Bgy. Langgam but moved out in 2005. He said that they have located some witnesses who claimed they wanted to help the victim but feared that the suspect would vent his ire on them.

Cruz said that they are looking into an old grudge as the motive behind the killing. According to neighbors of the victim, he is known for uttering harsh words each time he is drunk.  In 2005, the victim was said to have shoved Capili at the height of their drinking session. “There was this shoving incident involving the victim and the suspect sometime in 2005. It could be possible that the suspect still harbored an ill-grudge against the elder Pempengco,’ Cruz said.

The victim was described as a good man whose mood would change once he was intoxicated.

Said to be tired of his abusive ways, his wife Raquel left him with Charice a long time ago when she was little. Raquel said he was shocked by the news of her estranged husband’s death saying she had already forgiven him years ago, he being the father of Charice.               

Charice’s rise to international stardom is phenomenal, a classic case of a poor girl who was taken care of by her single mom and became a singing star. She said that growing up with her single mom motivated her to join amateur singing contests at a very young age.

Her big break came when her YouTube videos caught the attention of US TV hosts Ellen Degeneres and Oprah Winfrey who dubbed her "the most talented girl in the world."

Since then, Charice has been under the tutelage of Grammy Award-winning composer David Foster. She has also made guest appearances on the TV show "Glee" and a cameo in the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel.

Charice said she won’t join Foster in his Singapore concert, begging for her fan’s understanding, because she has to be with her family.