Floirendo ordered arrested, posts P30,000 bail
Davao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. yesterday posted P30,000 bail bond a few hours after the Sandiganbayan ordered his arrest for a graft case in connection with his alleged unlawful business interests in a firm doing business with the government.
Floirendo personally appeared before the sala of Davao City Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Emmanuel Carpio past 4 p.m. to post bail.
After Floirendo completed the bail procedure, Carpio issued an order directing “all enforcement officers...to cease and desist from enforcing the Warrant of Arrest issued in the case.”
Floirendo posted his bail after the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division yesterday morning released a warrant dated Feb. 19 directing law enforcement authorities, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNPCIDG) and the Davao del Norte Provincial Police Office, to arrest him and bring him before the court.
In a hold departure order (HDO) also dated Feb. 19, the Sixth Division directed the Bureau of Immigration to bar Floirendo from leaving the country except upon prior approval from the anti-graft court.
The arrest order and the HDO came after the court issued a resolution finding probable cause to put Floirendo on trial for a case of violation of Section 3 (h) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Section 3 (h) of RA 3019 prohibits government officials from “directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction... in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.”
The case was filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Feb. 9. It stemmed from a complaint of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
In its Sept. 4 resolution, the ombudsman found merit on the allegation of Alvarez that Floirendo, the biggest financier of Duterte’s presidential bid, continues to be a board member of Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc. (Tadeco), despite his election as congressman.
Tadeco entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in 1969 which allowed the firm to lease 3,000 hectares of land in the Davao Penal Colony for a banana plantation.
In its September ruling, the ombudsman said its investigation showed that when the JVA was renewed in 2003, Floirendo was already elected as lawmaker and even though he ceased being a board member, he allegedly still owned 75,000 shares of stock of the company and even became its vice chairman in 2008.
The ombudsman affirmed its ruling on Jan. 15 maintaining that Floirendo’s failure to divest all his interests in Tadeco, no matter how small their value are, was in violation of Article VI, Section 14 of the 1987 Constitution, which pro- hibits members of the Senate and the House of Representatives form having a direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the government.
Floirendo: I did not do any wrong
Floirendo bewailed what he called the “hasty filing of graft charges” against him.
“This unfortunate development is unanticipated, given the haste the complaint was decided as opposed to other similar grievances that have taken years before they were resolved,” Floirendo said in a statement yesterday.
He also attributed the speedy filing of graft charges against him and the issuance of the warrant of arrest to Alvarez.
“It is a clear sign of the existence of abuse of power and arrogance on the part of the Speaker…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 said.
“I am ready to face this case as this will give me the opportunity to clear my name. My only hope is for the Speaker to insulate the courts from his established brand of maneuvering and undue influence,” he added.
Floirendo also maintained that he did not commit any wrong.
“Despite such setback, I maintain my faith in our justice system because I have not done anything wrong. In the end, I am confident that I will prevail because the truth is on my side,” he said.
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