The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has affirmed the graft conviction of former Davao Del Norte Rep. Antonio "Tonyboy" Floirendo Jr., who was found guilty over the irregular land deal between his family and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) back in 2003.

In a resolution issued last Jan. 22, the anti-graft court denied Floirendo’s motion to reconsider its decision that sentenced the former legislator to six to eight years in prison and perpetually disqualified him from holding public office.

Also denied by the court was his motion for oral arguments.

In his motion, Floirendo said that Section 14 Article VI of the Constitution prohibits members of the Congress to use his or her official position to influence the execution of a contract or grant of a franchise.

However, Floirendo said there is no conflict of interest in his case because he is not a director, officer, or substantial stockholder of Tagum Agricultural Development Co. (TADECO) during the time material to the case.

He likewise stressed that his interests in TADECO are not opposed to or affected by his faithful performance of his official duty.

"To put it more concretely, the fact that a member of Congress has financial interest in a contract with the government does not necessarily mean that such member of Congress will inevitably work in the furtherance of such financial interest, to the detriment of public interest, but the framers of the Constitution deemed it wise to prevent such eventuality from arising by putting the aforesaid prohibitions in place," the Sandiganbayan said in its resolution.

The anti-graft court stressed that divestment is required not only when conflict of interest arises, but also when holding of the interest becomes prohibited.

The 27-page resolution was written by Sixth Division Chairperson, Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Karl Miranda and Efren de la Cruz. Associate Justices Kevin Narce Vivero and Ronald Moreno dissented.

On July 11, 1969, TADECO signed a contract with BuCor for the former's right to use and develop a banana plantation of 3,000 hectares within the Davao Penal Colony, which would last 25 years. The contract was renewed on September 26, 1979, followed by the most recent agreement on May 21, 2003.

Based on the new contract, BuCor will receive a guaranteed annual production share of P26,541,809 as well as profit shares, and it will increase by 10 percent every five years just as long as TADECO is allowed to use 5,308.36 hectares of land.

Floirendo, who was serving as the Representative of the 2nd District of Davao Del Norte from 2001 to 2004, owned most of TADECO's shares of stocks. He had 75,000 shares of TADECO, or equivalent to 89 percent of its outstanding capital stock at the time of the 2003 agreement.

This was a violation of Section 3(h) of R.A. 3019, since local officials are prohibited from having financial or pecuniary interest "in any business, contract or transaction in connection with which he intervenes or takes part in his official capacity," the Sandiganbayan said.