Floirendo inhibits from House probe on Tadeco-BuCor deal

MANILA, Philippines - Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. is inhibiting himself from the inquiry of the House of Representatives into the joint venture agreement (JVA) between Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Floirendo’s family owns Tadeco, the country’s largest banana producer-exporter.

The committee on good government and the committee on justice are conducting the probe upon the initiative of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who claims the JVA is disadvantageous to the government. Tadeco has said it is a fair deal.

In a letter to the good government committee, the lead probe panel, Floirendo said the inquiry was “a good opportunity for me and the company to correct all baseless and misplaced accusations leveled against it.”

“However, being a member of the committee on justice, I deem it more prudent to recuse myself from participating in the investigation to obviate any perception of personal interference or influence on the outcome,” he said.

“Rest assured that I will support all other undertakings the committee will initiate, except activities that are in any manner related to or connected with my family’s financial or business interest,” he said.

Alvarez has been tightening the screws on his former good friend Floirendo and Tadeco.

Last Monday, the Alvarez-led House majority removed Floirendo as a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), the body empowered to approve or reject Cabinet appointees.

Floirendo has accepted his fate, saying he knew from the beginning that his CA membership “was at the behest of the House leadership.”

He said he would now devote more time to his constituents in the second district of Davao del Norte, which he represents. Alvarez is representative of the first district.

Floirendo said he would also continue supporting President Duterte in whatever way he could.

“Positions may come and go but my brotherly love for Digong (Duterte) remains forever. He is family. And family sticks together till the end,” he said.

Floirendo is Duterte’s biggest election campaign contributor, accounting for almost P100 million of the more than P300 million the then presidential candidate and Davao City mayor received.

During last Tuesday’s first hearing on the Tadeco-BuCor deal, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ll agreed with Alvarez that the JVA is void as it was illegal.

Aguirre said there were two ways of scrapping it: for the President to cancel it or for BuCor to go to court and seek its cancellation.

Tadeco officials said they would abide by any final decision the government or the courts would take and are prepared to defend their JVA with BuCor.