Floirendo faces trial over Tadeco case

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan will proceed with the trial of Davao del Norte Second District Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. in connection with his alleged unlawful financial interests in a banana plantation doing business with the government.

In a five-page resolution released yesterday, the anti-graft court’s sixth division denied Floirendo’s motion for the Office of the Ombudsman to reinvestigate the graft charges filed against him.

“There is no need... to complete the preliminary investigation because it has been completed,” the ruling penned by Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez read.

Floirendo sought to defer his arraignment, set on May 2,  saying he received the ombudsman’s Dec. 28, 2017 decision denying his petition to present additional evidence only last Feb. 1.

However, the Sandiganbayan said Floirendo’s motion for reconsideration had been denied under the same ombudsman ruling.

Section 7, Rule 2 of the ombudsman rules of procedure states that only one motion for reconsideration or reinvestigation is allowed.

Filed by the ombudsman on Feb. 9, the charges against Floirendo stemmed from a complaint filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Alvarez said Floirendo continues to serve as a board member of Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc. (Tadeco) despite his election as congressman.

Tadeco entered into a joint venture agreement with the Bureau of Corrections in 1969, which allowed the firm to lease 3,000 hectares of land in the Davao Penal Colony for a banana plantation.

Based on the charge sheet, Floirendo still owns 75,000 shares of stock of the company and even became its vice chairman in 2008.

The ombudsman said Floirendo’s failure to divest his interests in Tadeco violated Article 6, Section 14 of the Constitution, which prohibits members of the Senate and House of Representatives from having a direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the government.