PCSO chairperson Margarita Juico FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥擬argarita Juico on Friday denied that there was any intrigue behind her resignation as chair of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
In a televised interview, Juico denied a newspaper report that said she resigned after an untoward incident involving Interior Secretary Manuel 鈥淢ar鈥� Roxas.
鈥�(It鈥檚 not that) what he did was offensive and drove me to resign. It鈥檚 just, I鈥檓 really feeling tired,鈥� Juico said.
The report said Juico was scolded by the President himself when she supposedly denied giving Roxas the documents of Bingo Milyonaryo and other games. Roxas is Aquino鈥檚 party mate and an expected presidential candidate in 2016.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a certain twist to the story. That鈥檚 not exactly true,鈥� Juico said.
Juico said what happened was that a person claiming to represent the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) came to their office and requested documents.
Juico wrote a letter to the supposed DILG representative to tell the person to go through the office protocol of requesting documents, she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all there is to it. I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anything negative that happened there,鈥� she said.
Juico was named PCSO chair by President Aquino in 2010. Before that, Juico was the social secretary of Aquino鈥檚 mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, and served for 17 years on the PCSO board.
A Philippine Daily Inquirer source claimed that an influential Liberal Party congressman allegedly being groomed to replace her is the real reason behind Juico鈥檚 unexpected resignation.
Juico is the seventh government official to resign under the Aquino administration. The others who have resigned are Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang, Local Water Utilities Administration chairman Rene Villa, National Bureau of Investigation director Nonnatus Rojas, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon and his deputy Danilo Lim, and National Irrigation Administration head Antonio Nangel.
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