House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez emerged the cellar dweller with his satisfaction rating down to a record-low of +1, in results of the latest survey by Social Weather Station (SWS).
Alvarez suffered a 13-point decline, his rating dropping from +14 in December 2017 to a “neutral” +1 in March 2018.
The face-to-face survey conducted March 23 to 27 involved interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.
In Davao del Norte, the survey results was welcomed by the camp of 2nd District Congressman Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo, Jr.
It fits the character of the Speaker, said the Floirendo camp in a one-line statement sent out by text message to radio broadcasters.
Alvarez, who represents the province’s 1st District, has filed a graft rap against Floirendo and instigated a House probe into the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Floirendo-owned Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) over the Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) reservation area.
Tadeco developed the once-barren 5,300-hectare Dapecol land into a banana plantation that provides large income to government and thousands of jobs.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez blew his top as an official of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) spurned his order to re-open to public use farm roads inside the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) farms in Davao del Norte, on Tuesday, March 20.
At the joint hearing by the House committee on justice and the committee on good governance and public accountability, Alvarez ordered Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) Superintendent Gerardo Padilla to “re-open” the roads to public use.
Saying that he could not follow the Speaker’s order, Padilla told Alvarez that only the Davao del Norte provincial government and the Department of Agriculture can order the re-opening.
Angered by the response, Alvarez accused Padilla of “ gross ignorance.”
“You know Mr. Padilla, you are displaying your gross ignorance. Paano ka ba naging director diyan? Ito simple lang ito, isipin mo ganyan yung takbo ng utak mo,” Alvarez snapped at the chief of Dapecol, a line agency of BuCor.
Not content with his insulting verbal attack, Alvarez also recommended to the House committees the transfer of Padilla for “gross ignorance of his duties and responsibilities.”
The hearing is the fifth on a House resolution initiated by Alvarez on the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between Tadeco and BuCor involving about 5,300 hectares of the Dapecol reservation area.
Alvarez is a former friend and political ally of Floirendo. The Speaker’s move to question the JVA is widely criticizedin Davao del Norte.
Alvarez alleged the JVA is “unconstitutional and disadvantageous to the government.”
The JVA was first signed in 1969 with its renewal approved by the President and Congress.
The JVA allowed Tadeco to develop the Dapecol reservation area into a banana plantation, with BuCor earning shares from the production of exportable Cavendish bananas.
Tadeco has also hired as farm hands prisoners serving term in the penal colony, as part of rehabilitation program for the inmates.
On top of the inquiry into the JVA, Alvarez has also sought the “re-opening” of the farm roads alleging that Tadeco barred public passage.
Tadeco denied Alvarez’s claim saying that the public enjoys free passage through the farm roads.
Tadeco President Alexander Valoria told the hearing that bio-security measures have been adopted in the farm to protect bananas against diseases.
Tadeco has installed checkpoints and foot baths and tire dips at the entrance to the farm as ordered by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
In 2012, BPI, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, issued Department Order No. 1, ordering banana plantations to install checkpoints and anti-pest measures to protect against spread of Panama Disease (Fusarium Wilt), which then was attacking bananas. The order remains to this day with the deadly root-disease continuing to be a major threat to the banana industry.
The BPI order was backed by the Davao del Norte capitol with a resolution of support.
The BPI order and the capitol resolution were the legal instruments invoked by PPadilla in shooting down Alvarez’s order to “re-open” the roads inside the Tadeco farm.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday tried to deliver a death sentence on the banana industry, the country’s major dollar-earning export, by forcing a banana plantation in Davao del Norte to remove bio-security barriers that would protect bananas from the deadly Panama Disease (Fusarium Wilt).
The bio-security measures – consisting of checkpoints, foot baths and tire baths— ordered under Administrative Order No. 1 by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), a line agency of the Bureau of Agriculture (DA), were installed in 2012 by Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) to protect the farm against Panama Disease.
Tadeco and other banana farms in the Davao Region were then under severe attack by the Panama Disease. The plant disease remains a threat to the industry today.
The fungus that attacks banana roots almost crippled the banana industry in Latin American countries in the 80s and 90s.
On March 20, during a House committee hearing, Alvarez muscled the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and Tadeco to open a road with bio-security barriers to the public, even as Tadeco protested that it would open the farm to Panama Disease infestation.
Bucor Superintendent Gerardo Padilla dismissed Alvarez, saying that he would open the road only if ordered by the Department of Agricultural and the Davao del Norte provincial government.
The March 20 hearing tackled a House resolution initiated by Alvarez raising questions on the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between Tadeco and BuCor involving the reservation area of the penal colony.
At the joint hearing by the House good government and public accountability committee and the justice committee, Alvarez rejected BuCor and Tadeco’s reasoning that roads in the area had to be restricted to prevent the spread of Panama Disease.
House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez blew his top as an official of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) spurned his order to re-open to public use farm roads inside the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (Tadeco) farms in Davao del Norte, on Tuesday, March 20.
At the joint hearing by the House committee on justice and the committee on good governance and public accountability, Alvarez ordered Davao Penal Colony (Dapecol) Superintendent Gerardo Padilla to “re-open” the roads to public use.
Saying that he could not follow the Speaker’s order, Padilla told Alvarez that only the Davao del Norte provincial government and the Department of Agriculture can order the re-opening.
Angered by the response, Alvarez accused Padilla of “ gross ignorance.”
“You know Mr. Padilla, you are displaying your gross ignorance. Paano ka ba naging director diyan? Ito simple lang ito, isipin mo ganyan yung takbo ng utak mo,” Alvarez snapped at the chief of Dapecol, a line agency of BuCor.
Not content with his insulting verbal attack, Alvarez also recommended to the House committees the transfer of Padilla for “gross ignorance of his duties and responsibilities.”
The hearing is the third on a House resolution initiated by Alvarez on the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between Tadeco and BuCor involving about 5,300 hectares of the Dapecol reservation area.
Alvarez alleged the JVA is “unconstitutional and disadvantageous to the government.”
The JVA was first signed in 1969 with its renewal approved by the President and Congress.
The JVA allowed Tadeco to develop the Dapecol reservation area into a banana plantation, with BuCor earning shares from the production of exportable Cavendish bananas.
Tadeco has also hired as farm hands prisoners serving term in the penal colony, as part of rehabilitation program for the inmates.
On top of the inquiry into the JVA, Alvarez has also sought the “re-opening” of the farm roads alleging that Tadeco barred public passage.
Tadeco denied Alvarez’s claim saying that the public enjoys free passage through the farm roads.
Tadeco President Alexander Valoria told the hearing that bio-security measures have been adopted in the farm to protect bananas against diseases.
Tadeco has installed checkpoints and foot baths and tire dips at the entrance to the farm as ordered by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
In 2012, BPI, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, issued Department Order No. 1, ordering banana plantations to install checkpoints and anti-pest measures to protect against spread of Panama Disease (Fusarium Wilt), which then was attacking bananas. The order remains to this day with the deadly root-disease continuing to be a major threat to the banana industry.
The BPI order was backed by the Davao del Norte capitol with a resolution of support.
The BPI order and the capitol resolution were the legal instruments invoked by PPadilla in shooting down Alvarez’s order to “re-open” the roads inside the Tadeco farm.
GOTO BUSINESS & NEWS DIRECTORY 