Home 
Iloilo City ? The complainant in the plunder case against former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Augusto Syjuco has scored the removal of Syjuco's successor allegedly because of pressures from Syjuco.
Annie Geron, secretary general of the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation, said the removal of Rogelio Peyuan two days after Peyuan took his oath of office showed that Syjuco was still "dipping his fingers" at the agency despite his resignation.
"The rift between Peyuan and Syjuco is just the tip of the iceberg and confirms how involved Syjuco is in all the anomalies in the agency," Geron told Inquirer in a telephone interview yesterday.
Syjuco did not respond to repeated calls from the Inquirer from morning until late afternoon yesterday. An official of Tesda in Western Visayas said Syjuco was not feeling well since Thursday.
Peyuan was informed by newly appointed Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza on Wednesday night that his appointment was rescinded.
"I was surprised because I just took my oath of office before the President on Monday," Peyuan said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Peyuan said he was informed by his sources that Syjuco had lobbied to the President to rescind his appointment because Syjuco allegedly had cited Peyuan's plan to misuse the agency's funds. But Peyuan said this was a flimsy excuse.
"How can I be sanctioned when I just assumed my post and I have not done any wrongdoing?" he said.
Peyuan said Syjuco had him removed from his post because he did not agree to Syjuco's request to be involved in a P700-million scholarship program.
"He asked me to allow him to choose the schools that will be given scholarship vouchers of our P700-million program. But I did not agree," Peyuan said.
He said that instead of agreeing with Syjuco, he had asked his former superior how they could pay for last year's outstanding scholarship obligations to schools amounting to P2 billion.
President Arroyo confirmed during a dinner with reporters at a resort on Mactan Island, Cebu that Peyuan has been assigned to the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), only days after taking his oath as new Tesda director general. ?It's already settled. Roger was appointed to the OPS,? Arroyo said.
Syjuco was among the executives who had to resign on March 2 after they filed their candidacies. He is running for representative of Iloilo's second district, a post now held by his wife Judy. /INQUIRER
