Floirendo appeals to Alvarez: ‘Let’s settle spat like gentlemen’

Davao del Norte Second District Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. on Wednesday called on House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to meet with him in person to settle whatever prompted the latter to file charges against him.

Floirendo had admitted that he and Alvarez have a “misunderstanding.” He said he has tried to reach out to the Speaker, who represents the province’s first district, “but to no avail.”

Floirendo issued another statement on the matter on Wednesday afternoon, saying: “If our quarrel stems from a personal matter between Speaker Alvarez and myself, I appeal to the Speaker to meet with me personally so that we can settle this like gentlemen.”

“For now, I ask the public not to be swayed by false allegations, especially my constituents in District 2, Davao del Norte,” he added.

Floirendo’s pronouncements came after Alvarez filed a graft complaint against him, questioning his “financial and pecuniary interest” in the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO) — one of a largest banana plantations in the world — and the Anflo Management and Investment Corporation (ANFLOCOR).

Alvarez has also called for a House inquiry into the allegedly anomalous deal between TADECO and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor).

Floirendo said he was “surprised” by the Speaker’s complaint.

“Because these allegations happened 14 years ago, I am curious as to his real intentions and the real issues,” he said, adding that he “was not in any way involved” in the deal the Speaker was questioning.

Floirendo was tagged in an alleged plot to unseat Alvarez, supposedly to clear the speakership for former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Floirendo has denied this, while the Speaker said he was ready to lose the said post “anytime.”

Alvarez has also denied that the complaint stemmed from a fight between his and Floirendo’s “girlfriends.” — MDM, GMA News