Senate panel to look into CUC’s hiring of Tinian deputy chief

The Senate will look into the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s hiring of a deputy director for Tinian, after concerned students from Tinian now studying at the University of Guam alleged that the new deputy director does not meet the required minimum qualification.

The students said that CUC disregarded its own official published criteria for the position, particularly the minimum requirement of a four-year degree.

CUC’s new deputy director for Tinian, Evelyn Manglona, started working in May. She was on fieldwork when Saipan Tribune tried to reach her Thursday afternoon at the CUC Tinian office.

Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, and Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian), chairman of the Tinian Legislative Delegation, separately said the PUTC Committee will be looking into the issue.

Torres said the committee will meet on Monday to formulate a letter that will be sent to CUC. He said if the panel is not satisfied with CUC’s response, they may call in CUC officials to shed light on the hiring of Tinian’s deputy director.

Hofschneider applauded the students for bringing this matter to the attention of government officials.

The Tinian Student Association at the University of Guam wrote a letter to Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), requesting that he convene his PUTC Committee “at the soonest possible time, to conduct an inquiry on the manner in which CUC Human Resources and the upper management disregarded their official published criteria for the position of deputy executive director.”

When CUC announced the job vacancy for deputy director, it required a four-year degree as a minimum requirement.

Tinian students said “it is an unfortunate event that CUC’s upper management breached their own criteria to put in place a person who has less than the required minimum qualification.”

“Herein is another classic example that other subjective or hidden criteria, e.g. political affiliation, reign supreme in government hiring practices. This must stop,” the students told the Senate president.

They said Tinian residents are well aware that at least three or four other applicants are considered more qualified than the chosen individual now occupying the position.

“We trust that Senator [Juan] Ayuyu-Rota, Senator [Ralph] Torres-Saipan, Senator [Jovita] Taimanao-Rota, Senator [Pete] Reyes-Saipan, and most especially Senator [Frank] Cruz and Senator Hofschneider, will exercise their sworn public duty to inquire and insist that CUC institute an immediate corrective action on this type of demoralizing practice,” the students said.