MANILA, Philippines - The Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) vowed yesterday to cooperate with the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s investigation into its 25-year joint venture agreement (JVA) with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for the use of 5,300 hectares of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm as a banana plantation.
The DOJ created a committee to look into the agreement after Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez asked the DOJ, which has administrative supervision over the BuCor, in a letter last week to cancel the allegedly disadvantageous contract after filing a graft complaint against Davao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr., whose family owns Tadeco, before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Alvarez also filed a House resolution seeking an inquiry into the deal.
“We welcome the investigation of the Department of Justice as it will be a chance for us to properly address all the malicious, baseless and downright false accusations being hurled against Tadeco,” the company president, Alex Viloria, said.
Viloria said they would be able to show “that our contract with the government is aboveboard as it has been repeatedly upheld by different government agencies” and “how it has been helping the Philippine economy and our countrymen for many decades through job opportunities, taxes and social upliftment of communities.”
He said there was no anomaly in their contract forged with the government in May 2003, contrary to the allegation of Alvarez that it could lead to some P25 billion in losses on government’s part.
“The DOJ, through its representative attorney Teresita Domingo, stated that the JVA is actually aboveboard,” he said, referring to the “congressional review” conducted in 2012, negating claims about its alleged lopsidedness.
“This rehabilitation program has been found to be very successful by BuCor up to the extent that the latter has even requested Tadeco to replicate the JVA program to its penal colony in Iwahig, Palawan,” Viloria explained.
Viloria also stressed Tadeco was never involved in exploiting its workers. “Such allegation is completely baseless. Tadeco takes good care of its workers. This is evident in the high production yield, indicating that the workers are well-motivated and very productive.
“In fact, among all the banana companies in the Philippines, Tadeco has been branded as a champion on labor and community relations. It is a regular recipient of awards in the field of labor-management relations,” Viloria disclosed.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the panel would specifically look into the alleged disadvantages of the contract to the government and repercussions on the proposed termination of contract.
Aguirre vowed that the probe would be “transparent” and the DOJ would ensure that “all subsequent agreements to be entered into by the government shall comply with the requirements set forth by the Constitution and by the laws.”
‘Binag does not speak for Tadeco’
As this developed, Tadeco disowned a Facebook statement posted by Cathy Binag, Floirendo’s current live-in partner, about the company.
“We would like to make it clear that Ms. Binag is not in any way connected with Tadeco or any of its affiliates in any manner. As such, she is not authorized to speak for and in behalf of Tadeco and the Floirendo family,” Tadeco senior vice president Vicente Floirendo clarified.
“All her statements, whether verbal, written or expressed in any other form, are entirely her own opinion and are not sanctioned by Tadeco, its affiliates and the Floirendo family,” Vicente, who is also the firm’s chief operating officer, explained.
It was Binag’s spat with Jenny Maliwanag Vicencio, Alvarez’s girlfriend, that started the hostility between the Speaker and his former bosom buddy Floirendo.
Alvarez defended anew
President Duterte again dismissed as a “non-issue” the extramarital affairs of Alvarez, saying the lawmaker is not a Catholic and is therefore not bound to have just one wife.
The issue about government officials’ extramarital affairs came about because of the feud between Alvarez and Floirendo. – With Alexis Romero