DAVAO del Norte Representative Antonio Floirendo Jr. has been ordered arrested for graft in relation to the deal between the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) and the Tagum Agricultural Development Corporation (Tadeco), the banana company owned by his family.
Floirendo welcomed the Sandiganbayan's decision to order his arrest Wednesday, February 21, and blamed Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who filed the complaint against him before the Office of the Ombudsman in March 2017.
"The hasty filing of graft charges against me before the Sandiganbayan and the subsequent issuance of the warrant of arrest in connection with the Bucor-Tadeco deal is a clear sign of the existence of abuse of power and arrogance on the part of the Speaker," Floirendo said in a statement.
"While I welcome the hastily filed complaint, I would like to point out that this transgression on the part of the Speaker is not only political but a veiled attempt at grabbing the deal for his business and personal interest," he added.
Floirendo has yet to receive the copy of the order and the complaint. He said he will post bail as soon as he received such.
The Sandiganbayan has set a P30,000 bail for Floirendo's liberty pending the trial of his case.
Floirendo was confident that the case will reveal that thousands of inmates at the Davao Penal Colony and their families had benefitted from the more than three-decade-old Bucor-Tadeco deal, which he insisted is "valid" and "legal." (SunStar Philippines)