Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is pushing for a congressional inquiry into the allegedly grossly disadvantageous 25-year lease contract signed by the Bureau of Corrections and a bananafirm, the Tagum Agricultural Development Co. Inc.
Alvarez filed House Resolution No. 867 directing the committee on good government and accountability to look into the matter and supposed ill-treatment on the workers in the banana plantation belonging to the family of Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr.
“It is the duty of the State, in particular the legislative department, to investigate such practices in aid of legislation to avoid a repeat of the incident,” he said.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II earlier ordered a review of the 25-year lease contract which will last for 12 years.
The government received complaints that the company’s annual payments—both lease and profit sharing—were only a fraction of the prevailing market rate.
Floirendo is the biggest campaign financier of President Rodrigo Duterte, having contributed P75 million based on the President’s report to the Commission on Elections.
Under the new lease agreement, BuCor shall receive a guaranteed annual production share of P26.54 million, which would automatically increase by 10 percent every five years.
“While this arrangement, at first glance, may appear beneficial, an examination of the surrounding circumstances as well as the prevailing industry practices would show otherwise,” Alvarez said.
“The existing contract, while guaranteeing the BuCor a share of P26.54 million per year for 5,308.36 hectares, actually prejudices the same since the prevailing price of lease contracts in that area is P25,000 per hectare per year.”
The government “is prejudiced” by as much P106 million per year, Alvarez added.