(Eagle News) — Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. on Wednesday welcomed the graft complaint filed against him by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, even as he admitted he was “hurt” by the act of his “good friend.”
“Admittedly, I am hurt with the action of Speaker Alvarez against me. It not only affects me but also my family as well as the people of Davao del Norte..But that’s politics…I welcome any complaint to be filed against me and I am ready to face them with a clear conscience,” Floirendo said.
Alvarez filed the complaint against Floirendo–the son of the late banana magnate Antonio—before the Ombudsman for, among others, his alleged violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with his existing “financial or pecuniary interest” in the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco), which has contracts with the government.
The speaker, who is also the representative of the first district of Davao del Norte, announced the filing of the complaint on the same day that he filed House Resolution Number 867.
HB 867 seeks a House of Representatives inquiry into an alleged anomalous agreement between the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and Tadeco.
According to Floirendo, he did not do “anything wrong,” nor did he “commit any criminal act.”
He said “the turn of events all started with a rumor that I was behind a plot to oust (Alvarez) and have him replaced by former President and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.”
“I did not give any statement then to defend myself as there was no truth to it at all. I never attempted to talk to Arroyo, nor would I support any plot to oust Speaker Alvarez, who in the first place is a good friend of mine, and whom I fully supported during the last election and in his bid for the speakership,” he said.
He said if there was an “iota of truth to the ouster plot, I am 100% not part of it.”
“Brotherly misunderstanding”
Floirendo added that he and Alvarez were not “fight(ing) with each other.”
“If ever there is a conflict, it could be likened to a brotherly misunderstanding, which I am sure would be patched up in no time at all,” he said.
He admitted, however, that he “tried and reached out” to Alvarez, but “her refused to talk to me since this all started.”
“I still offer a hand of friendship to Speaker Alvarez amidst all that happened for the benefit of the people of Davao del Norte. And to show my full support to the Duterte administration that is doing amazingly well for the past nine months,” he said.