Floirendo back in CA as assistant majority leader

Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. regained on Wednesday his seat in the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), months after his nemesis, former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, was ousted from the House leadership.

The owner of the banana plantation company Tagum Agricultural Development Corp. (Tadeco), Floirendo was sworn in as assistant majority leader in the CA, which confirms or rejects appointments by the President.

Floirendo lost his CA seat in May 2017 “at the height of his bitter quarrel with erstwhile close friend Alvarez,” his office said in a statement.

Floirendo took his oath before Senate President Vicente Sotto III at the Senate.

In March 2017, Alvarez accused Floirendo of graft and sought a congressional inquiry into the legality of the agreement between the Bureau of Corrections and Tadeco, which allowed the company to lease public land for 25 years. —DJ Yap