Newly-sworn in Commerce secretary sets priorities

A day after the Senate confirmed his nomination, Sixto Igisomar took his oath of office as Department of Commerce secretary yesterday morning with his priorities clear: support and outreach to small businesses, enticing investments, and beefing up divisions and offices under the department.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial administered the oath of office for Igisomar in the presence of the Commerce secretary’s wife Catherine, some Commerce staff and House Commerce and Tourism Committee chair Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan).

Igisomar said his priorities will be “enhancements of divisions and offices under Commerce, support and outreach to small businesses, entice investments, balancing management of current grants under Commerce, as well as setting priorities on sustainable economic future for the CNMI.”

“For now, I expect to align key directors under Commerce and collaborate with the governor and lieutenant governor to map the agenda on the above,” Igisomar told Saipan Tribune hours after the swearing-in ceremony where no media was invited. The Fitial administration shared photos of the ceremony hours later.

Press secretary Angel Demapan separately said the governor congratulated the new Commerce secretary “and urged him to continue the work he has been doing since he took charge of the department.” Fitial nominated Igisomar on Nov. 9.

“The governor also reiterated the need to work toward enticing more investors to do business in the Commonwealth,” Demapan said.

Igisomar has been holding the post of Commerce secretary in an acting capacity since the post was vacated over a year ago by Michael Ada. Igisomar was the deputy Commerce secretary when Ada was still on board.

There’s no telling yet whether a new deputy secretary will be named. Demapan said that Igisomar will review his department’s needs and come up with a decision on staffing.

Besides being Commerce secretary, Igisomar is also the current chairman of the NMI Retirement Fund board of trustees.

Igisomar thanked Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos “for their confidence, the staff of Commerce for their willingness to help make Commerce and the CNMI a better place and all the supporters who went before the Senate during my hearing, as well as those that submitted their written testimonies or verbal lobbying recently and through the past year.” He also thanked his wife Catherine Sablan Tenorio “for her continuous support, and my Igisomar and Tenorio [families], as well as a long list of extended families and friends too many to mention.”