JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday said he had approved the findings of the Department of Justice’s committee that the 25-year joint venture agreement between the Bureau of Corrections and Tagum Agricultural Development Co. for the lease of 5,000 hectares of the Davao prison and Penal Farm was illegal.
Aguirre stressed he agreed with the findings of the review committee that the JVA between BuCor and Tadeco failed to comply with legal requirements.
“I approved the findings of the committee that the deal is null and void and on the ground they cited,” Aguirre told a press conference.
In the fact-finding report signed by Justice Undersecretary Raymund Mercate, the DoJ committee led by Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras III held that the JVA was illegal as it exceeded the 1,000-hectare limit under the Constitution.
The committee also concluded that the JVA violated the Constitution, which only allows private corporations to hold lands of the public domain through lease for a period not exceeding 50 years.
The deal was originally forged in 1969, extended 10 years after for 25 years and again extended for another 25 years in 2003.
The existing contract ends in 2029—in violation of the 50-year limit, the DoJ stressed.
The BuCor-Tadeco deal also violates Commonwealth Act No. 141 or the Public Land Act as the present and earlier agreements since 1969 were never subjected to any public auction or bidding.
“Under the BuCor-Tadeco JVA, the production and profit share of the BuCor in 2016 amounted to only P44,854,726, or a rate of P8,449.83 per hectare per year. Compared to the prevailing lease rates of P10,000 to P18,000 per hectare per year of Tanglaw and Cooperative leaseback rates located in the general area where the DPFF lands are located, the BuCor-Tadeco JVA appears to be disadvantageous in terms of per hectare rate,” the fact-finding report stressed.
The Office of the Solicitor General came up earlier with a similar legal opinion on the issue.
However, while Aguirre agreed with the findings of the committee, he said he disagreed with its recommendation the JVA could still be adjusted and fixed.
“There is a recommendation to adjust the contract to make it acceptable. I don’t agree with that because you cannot fix anymore a contract that is null and void,” he said.
Aguirre added he would also study which proper agency should move for the invalidation of the contract.
He explained that while the BuCor was under the DoJ, it was only the bureau that had legal personality in the JVA.
The DoJ issued the opinion upon request of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
Tadeco is reportedly owned by the family of Davao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Antonio “Tony Boy” Floirendo Jr., who recently figured in a controversial conflict with Alvarez.