Floirendo faces suspension as House member
The House of Representatives will suspend Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. if ordered by the Sandiganbayan, according to Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas.
In a text message to reporters yesterday, Fariñas said the House “has respected and implemented all 90-day mandatory preventive suspension orders issued by the Sandiganbayan against its members.”
Floirendo is facing a graft case in connection with a complaint filed by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Floirendo was accused of failing to divest his shares in Tagum Agricultural Development Corp., which is owned by his family, when it renewed its lease with the government for 3,000 hectares of land that Tadeco had transformed into a banana plantation.
Floirendo was already a congressman at the time and committed conflict of interest, according to the complaint.
On Wednesday, the Office of the Ombudsman asked the Sandigan to suspend Floirendo.
The ombudsman said it is mandatory for the anti-graft court to suspend incumbent public officers pending litigation.
“Such suspension is aimed not merely to prevent the accused from intimidating witnesses or otherwise hamper the prosecution of the case, but also to prevent him from committing further acts of malfeasance,” the ombudsman’s motion read.
Floirendo had denied the allegations.