‘Hurt’ Saycon to quit PDIC

Hours after being alluded to by President Arroyo as a "termite," a "hurt" Pastor "Boy" Saycon said yesterday he will resign from the board of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

"Resignation is very easy," he told The STAR, adding he will submit a formal letter of resignation.

Saycon emphasized that he never asked for the position and that he declined it initially, saying it was Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo who appealed to him to accept the post and help the President.

Despite the falling out, he said the Council for Philippine Affairs (COPA), where he serves as secretary general, will not form a separate opposition group.

"We are not in the habit of destroying what we have built," he said. "Civil society has all the right to protect its stake in what it has built."

Asked if COPA will join the group of Linda Montayre, he replied, "Not in our wildest dreams. We are independent. We cannot be part of any group."

Saycon said he was not hurt when the President reportedly sought his resignation from the PDIC, but what got him was the "termite" label.

Refusing to be drawn into a word war with the President, Saycon said, "That is her presidential way of saying things. I will not comment on the word that she used. It is up to the people now to judge based on how the President said it."

Saycon censured the President’s apparent aversion to criticism, saying that to remain silent in exchange for juicy government positions reverses democratic gains. "I cannot shut my mouth and close my eyes to the wrongs of the government," he told The STAR.

On his falling out with the President, Saycon said he will be a "hypocrite" not to admit that he was hurt. "If we are allies at EDSA, we should be able to talk to each other. They (government) are even talking to the opposition. Whey can’t they talk to us?" he asked.

Saycon said he did not even criticize the President, but admitted to "reminding" her of "one of her big political mistakes," referring to the recruitment of senior supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada. "This is what pains us."

COPA chairman William Esposo told The STAR in a separate interview that if he were the presidential image adviser, he will "advise" the President not call anybody by that word.

As for the reported recruitment of Estrada supporters into the government, Esposo said, "People we fought against are getting in. This is like a betrayal of EDSA II."