‘Alvarez will pay for libel’

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Tonyboy Floirendo Jr. is promising to go after his estranged buddy and fellow Davao del Norte congressman Pantaleon Alvarez, especially now that he is no longer speaker of the House of Representatives. 

“I want Alvarez punished for desecrating the memory of my father, Don Antonio Floirendo Sr. and for maliciously maligning the entire Floirendo family as land-grabbers,” Floirendo said in a statement, confident that the seven libel suits he filed would eventually result in indictments. 

The banana tycoon disclosed that he “helped fund (Alvarez’s) political campaigns over the years,” but that he filed charges against the latter – including a P15-million damage suit – “not for money but for principle.” 

“I’m excited to see him in court,” Alvarez replied.

Floirendo said he intends to use any amount he collects from the libel suit he filed before the Quezon City prosecutor’s office on Aug. 20 as a “fund for scholars” in his congressional district.

He took offense in the “numerous instances” when Alvarez imputed that the “Floirendos are land-grabbers.” 

He also denied the former speaker’s accusations that he was the source of news stories about his Siargao real estate property that were published in various media.

Floirendo stressed that because the amount involved in the case he filed is big, he plans to create a foundation that will manage the fund, “which will solely be used for poor but deserving students.”