I CANNOT understand the brouhaha over the P1-million personal contribution of Congressman Antonio "Tonyboy" Floirendo Jr. for the Christmas party of the legislators in the lower house. It was pittance actually.
The amount was described by the usual media brats as something "lavish".
You are talking here of 300 plus congressmen and members of their staff and I don't know where and how that amount could take the winners as the scheming media want to portray. The intriguers are simply stirring controversy to spice up their story.
Tonyboy has issued his statement but knowing him personally up close I feel obliged to add to what the Congressman had issued as a repartee.
In Davao del Norte and Davao City where the Floirendos hail, the venerable patriarch Don Antonio Floirendo Sr., established an enviable tradition in his business conglomerate that has been passed to the children. Tonyboy was tasked to continue and fulfill that with the passing of the grand old man into that goodnight.
But let me give a brief about how this came about.
Floirendo, a mining engineer, migrated to Mindanao bringing with him the distributors franchise of Ford Motors. He was an ace salesman but loves the smell of the earth and so ventured into agriculture starting off with abaca and then hog raising.
When mosaic disease and synthetic fibers practically wiped out abaca, a determined Floirendo did not give up. He switched crop and brought to the country the first Cavendish bananas.
These days Dabawenyos fondly remember him as "Mr. White Hair" for he has this unique streak of golden white hair that complements his very handsome be dimpled pinkish face that refused to be tanned by the scorching sun. To the thousands of people he employs and to the rest of Dabawenyos, he is acknowledged as the Father of the Banana Industry the backbone of Davao Region economy.
Anflocor, the holding company of the Floirendo conglomerate, is indubitably the biggest single employer outside of Metro Manila. The success of Floirendo was phenomenal and early on he made a pledge to dedicate one or two of his children and kin to public service.
First to be fielded was his brother in law, Rodolfo del Rosario, who was his right hand man from the time he started cultivating the idle grassland in Davao del Norte for Cavendish bananas.
Del Rosario served in various capacities in government among these as Congressman, Cabinet Member, Regional Development Council Chairman and Provincial Governor.
Fresh from business school in London, Antonio Floirendo Jr. was made to run for village captain to have the feel of the rudiments of public service. Later, he ran for congressman in the Second District of Davao del Norte, punctuated only when his three terms ended. From there Anton Lagdameo, his nephew, took over from where he left.
These days, Tonyboy is back as congressman fulfilling his promise to his ailing father to take leave as Chairman of Anflocor and serve anew as District Representative. His uncle Rodolfo has retired but his son Anthony, a congressman in the 1st District was elected Governor of the province.
The advent of Christmas always reminds Dabawenyos of yet another virtue that the late Don Floirendo bequeathed to his children. Christmas has to be celebrated with thanksgiving and with sumptuous feast for every farm and office worker and everybody who is somebody and or a nobody in the community.
Money was never a question. The virtue of giving is innate among the children of Don Antonio and Dona Nenita Floirendo. No matter what, the couple wants their workers and employees happy every Christmas. And so the legacy continues with no fuss.
A million for a raffle activity? It was a Christmas party in Congress and that simple gesture should not be trivialized. Besides the event coincided with Tonyboy’s birthday.
A day after that event, in still another thanksgiving mass officiated be healing priest Fr. Suarez, I saw him handing quite a sum of money to carolers from a Foundation that was raising funds for street children they are taking care of. Father Suarez too acknowledged the donation of a five-hectare land which Tonyboy gave for his ministry. So what’s the big issue in the birthday and Christmas raffle?