Bebot Alvarez scores big

People looking at the scorecard in the ongoing feud between Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez and Davao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. are saying the Speaker “really scored big.” That’s because Alvarez dealt a very big blow on his congressional compatriot by hitting where it could hurt most: the purse strings.

Alvarez is questioning the contract between the Floirendos’ Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) and the Bureau of Corrections for the use of some 5,308 hectares of land within the Davao Penal Colony as a banana plantation. The deal between Tadeco and BuCor that began in 1969 was renewed in 2003. Alvarez filed House Resolution 867 seeking an inquiry into the agreement, alleging that the deal is disadvantageous to the government because the rates per hectare are far below prevailing prices, thereby depriving state coffers of billions worth of revenues.

While Malacañang said it will not interfere in what it described as a “personal matter” involving the lawmakers, latest reports say President Duterte has ordered the cancellation of the Tadeco contract following a private meeting with his feuding allies in Congress.

Some people, however, are checking if such a contract can be revoked by the president, with insiders saying President Rody has been fed wrong information. According to Tadeco, the agreement between the company and the Bureau of Corrections is “not a lease contract but a joint venture” to help in the rehabilitation of inmates in the Davao Penal Colony, with plans to adopt the same program at the Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan. Apparently, the rates indicated in the agreement were considered the most competitive at the time of the renewal. Tadeco sources explained there were plans to adjust the rates back in 2011 but that this was put in the backburner because of the changes in BuCor leadership.

The rumor mill has been going into overdrive regarding the real source of the rancor and animosity between the erstwhile good friends. One version has it that Alvarez got wind of plans allegedly hatched by Floirendo to replace him with former president and now Pampanga congresswoman Gloria Arroyo as Speaker – an allegation that Floirendo has denied.

However, several sources confirmed that the acrimony between the two men was driven by the feud between their “girlfriends” who reportedly engaged in a shouting match during the 37th Bacolod Masskara Festival in October last year because of a dispute over “seating arrangements.” Of course, the girlfriends told their respective partners about the verbal clash – resulting in the current state of affairs with the men now getting very much into the fray.

Observers are saying (not without some degree of amusement) that what is happening is simply one more instance where a woman – and her follies and foibles – could prove to be a man’s undoing as seen since the time of creation. Everyone knows the story of Eve who falls for the serpent’s tricks, eats of the forbidden fruit and then makes Adam do the same – causing them (and the rest of mankind) to be banished from the Garden of Eden. Mythology also has the beautiful Helen of Sparta whose elopement with Paris led to the downfall of Troy, while literature has William Shakespeare’s manipulative Lady Macbeth whose greed for power and position drove her husband, Macbeth, to murder the king.

And then there was Cleopatra – the Queen of Egypt whose affair with Julius Caesar contributed to his downfall. Caesar’s decision to bring Cleopatra (and their child Caesarion) to Rome as “guests” was resented by members of the Roman senate, especially those who were sympathetic to Caesar’s wife Calpurnia, a docile woman who comes from a prominent family.

Many were also worried about Cleopatra’s strong influence over Caesar – who was named “dictator for life” – because the Roman leader was displaying loftier ambitions to become king. Rumors had also begun circulating in earnest that Julius Caesar wanted to amend Roman law to have his son with Cleopatra recognized. All these spurred Caesar’s enemies to plot his downfall – resulting in what everyone now knows as “the ides of March.”

When Julius Caesar died, Antony became Cleopatra’s protector. Their union produced three children – whose proclamation as rulers of different kingdoms plus the declaration of Caesarion as Caesar’s legitimate son and heir provoked a political firestorm that escalated into a war.

So now many are asking: Could this be the beginning of the downfall of the Floirendo empire?

Duterte refuses private plane travels to Davao

A Cabinet secretary is complaining that he now has to take commercial flights whenever he travels with President Duterte. Apparently, the president decided he will no longer take chartered flights after receiving word from some people that the Asian Aerospace Corp. of Peter Rodriguez was reportedly charging too much for the use of the Gulfstream G150.

The President has been quoted as saying he was embarrassed to take private aircraft for his local trips, preferring to travel the way ordinary people do and even allowing himself to go through regular checks at the airport. Of course, the decision of the president to take commercial flights can prove to be a very big security challenge for the Presidential Security Group – which is why these commercial flights are also selected randomly by the PSG. The president’s seat is also chosen at random (although the usual places are either the back or front of the plane). If the president had his way, he will fly regular economy class back and forth between Manila and Davao – to the chagrin of some of his travel mates.

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