Scrapping Tadeco deal up to Duterte — DOJ chief

MANILA, Philippines -  It’s President Duterte who can scrap the “anomalous” joint venture agreement (JVA) between Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (Tadeco) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre ll said yesterday.

“We have already recommended that the President cancel it for being against the 1935 Constitution and the law. The Department of Justice (DOJ) does not have that authority,” he told a hearing of the House of Representatives on the deal.

But if Duterte does not scrap the JVA, then Aguirre would direct BuCor to file a case in court for the cancellation of its contract with Tadeco. Or, if the property is to be opened for lease or JVAs, then the President should first declare it alienable and disposable, a recommendation that his office also made.

The DOJ chief said the Constitution and the Public Land Act prohibit any lease, JVA or similar arrangement covering public lands like the BuCor property in Davao del Norte that Tadeco has transformed into a profitable banana plantation over more than four decades.

Responding to questions from Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, Aguirre said it would be BuCor that would initiate court action “because it is the party to the contract, not the DOJ.”

A resolution authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez prompted the House inquiry as he claimed that the JVA is disadvantageous to the government.

Alvarez said Aguirre should not involve Duterte in the resolution of the Tadeco issue “because the President has nothing to do with it,” pointing out that the current JVA and all other agreements between Tadeco and BuCor were signed by the BuCor directors and approved by the secretaries of justice at the time they were entered into.

In yesterday’s hearing, deputy speaker and Cebu Rep. Gwen Garcia told Aguirre that the present Constitution allows the exploitation of public land through joint ventures with the private sector.

Aguirre said he would look into the language of the present Charter and the 1935 Constitution, which is the one that should apply since the Tadeco-BuCor JVA started in 1969.

Tadeco president Alex Valoria defended the constitutionality and legality of his company’s JVA with BuCor, saying, “Every administration investigated this and found it to be constitutional and legal. At least eight secretaries of justice passed upon it and saw nothing wrong with it.”

He named the eight as Juan Ponce Enrile, Vicente Abad Santos, Ricardo Puno, Catalino Macaraig, Sedfrey Ordoñez, Simeon Datumanong, Raul Gonzales and Silvestre Bello lll.         

Valoria said the Senate and the House in previous Congresses had determined that the JVA “was beneficial to the government and the communities in the area.”

 “Last year, we paid BuCor P143 million in rental and the government more than P430 million in taxes. We employ more than 12,000 workers, 800 of whom are inmates because part of our mission is to reform and rehabilitate prisoners,” he said.  – With Delon Porcalla, Edith Regalado