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SUBURBIA
VOL.5 ISSUE 92 • JULY 11, 2012
EDGEDAVAO
Davao del Norte owes progress to Don Floirendo, Sr.
Balloons. The LGU of Carmen releases balloons as the funeral convoy of Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. passes by on its way to his final resting place in Marapangi, Toril in Davao City. [PIO]
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HE Province of Davao del Norte would not become what it is today if not for the “foresight and gutfeel” of Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario said the province is indebted to the fallen banana magnate for transforming it from a swampy jungle some 50 years ago into the present booming agro-industrial economy and investment haven in the south. “We really owe a lot from Don Antonio Floirendo in so far as the manner the province was developed,” del Rosario said of his brother-in-law, who is considered as the father of the country’s export banana industry. After founding the Davao Motor Sales in Davao City, Floirendo put up in 1950 the tagum Agricultural Development Company (tADECO), which was initially involved in abaca production before shifting to cavendish banana, to become the biggest banana plantation in the world. Del Rosario recalled it was in 1948 when the then 32-year old Floirendo brought him and sister Nenita, the industrialist’s wife, to Davao City. He remembered the first time he set foot to survey the 1,000 hectares of idle marshland that his Manong tony bought in Panabo. “I was tagging along with him as his water
boy. I was only 15 years old then. this whole area was a virgin forest, a jungle full of monkeys, wild boars and leeches,” the governor nostalgically recalled. “My youthful memory can still vividly remember how Manong tony transformed this once primitive face of the earth into something alive and verdant.” Soon after, other banana plantations began to sprout in the province – making Davao del Norte the leading banana exporter in the country. the province now allots around 17,000 hectares for the banana industry, which now directly employs some 240,000 workers and earning for the country about $720 million a year. tADECO, which is the flagship company of the ANFLO Group of Companies (ANFLOCOR), now covers around 6,900 hectares of banana estate that produce millions of boxes of export-quality bananas annually. the visionary Floirendo built ANFLOCOR, a proudly Mindanao-based business conglomerate employing tens of thousands of professionals and workers for more than six decades. Aside from agri-business, it has interests in automotives, real estate, resort, trucking, financing, retailing, and race horse breeding, among others. Del Rosario, who once helped Floirendo expand
his business empire, said the departed kingmaker was like “a father to me when I was a young boy; a brother in later years, and a close friend in our twilight years.” According to him, the only consolation to his grief is to see Floirendo’s children continue the legacy of their father, who succumbed to pneumonia at the age of 96. the governor is confident that Floirendo’s namesake, Antonio “tonyboy” Jr., who is a former representative in the province’s 2nd district, is capable of bringing the corporation to new heights. “to tony Boy, in your eyes I now see the qualities of your father whom I truly admired; tony Boy - you are your father’s son,” he said. In response, the sur-
viving son made his sincere commitment to his father, saying: “I vow you can rest well in peace in God’s embrace, dear father. Your legacy shall not be wasted, it shall prosper more. It shall live on forever.” Flock of bigwigs and ordinary people thronged to the tycoon’s 5-day wake at St. Antonio de Padua Chapel in A.O Floirendo village, in Panabo City. thousands of people even more joined the funeral rites of the “Banana King” on July 6, 2012, with hundreds of children, supporters, sympathizers and Anflocor employees lining up the streets of tADECO, Carmen town and Panabo City, throwing flowers as his hearse headed towards his final resting place in Marapangi, toril, Davao City.
Our Gratitude
W
E feel truly blessed by the many gifts and blessings that the Lord has showered upon the ANFLOCOR Group of Companies through our Chairman, the late Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr. He was a father who toiled hard and worked his way up to provide for his family. He was a patriarch to thousands of people whose lives were transformed and uplifted. He was a philanthropist who touched the lives of many people through the conglomerate that he built and the AOF Foundation that he created. His passing is a great loss to the family that he formed and expanded through the years – the ANFLOCOR Group of Companies. He made a mark in our lives and his legacy will always remain in our hearts. the ANFLOCOR Group of Companies remains committed to the vision of our patriarch, which is to uplift the quality of life of the people of Mindanao. to everyone who offered a prayer, wreath, mass card, donation to the AOF Foundation, message of condolence, and those who visited the wake to offer their last respects to Don Antonio O. Floirendo, Sr., our sincerest and deepest appreciation for your expression of sympathy and love. Your thoughtfulness and prayers for Don Antonio were most comforting. God bless you all. Alexander N. Valoria President and CEO ANFLOCOR Group of Companies KIAMBA’S BEST. (Top) Governor Migs Dominguez and Board Member Cornelio Martinez (left) buy “Kiamba`s Best” as the common brand of the town`s produce during the opening ceremony of USWAG Sarangani 2012 Monday, July 9, at the municipal gymnasium. United towards a Strong, Wealthy And Globally competitive Sarangani (USWAG), is an adaptation of the MSME development week held nationwide every second week of July which Sarangani expanded into a month-long activity. (Left) A member of Kawas Seaweeds Processors Association cooks noodles made of vegetables at the opening of USWAG Sarangani (United towards a Strong, Wealthy And Globally competitive Sarangani) Monday, July 9, at the municipal gymnasium. Veggie-noodles making on the spot training is offered free of registration fee during the event.