Lang: Torres, Manglona have hidden political agenda

Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) accused Sen. Ralph Torres (R-Saipan) and Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota) on Thursday of opposing measures to legalize casino gaming on Saipan to boost their plans to run as governor and lieutenant governor in 2014—an accusation both senators described as “false,” “outrageous” and “disturbing.”

Froilan, whose casino bill was killed by the Senate in 2010, claimed that the two senators don’t want the CNMI economy to improve within the next two years and make the Fitial administration look bad, hence their opposition to Saipan casino bills.

“That’s outrageous,” Manglona told Saipan Tribune in an interview at his office. “The Senate has been pushing for ways to help save the Retirement Fund, the hospital, improve food stamp and other critical areas, and to make any implication that the reason why we’re not supporting casinos is tied to politics is ridiculous.”

Manglona said he doesn’t have any plan to run for lieutenant governor, and would want to continue serving as a senator.

He reiterated that there are 99 other things on the table and the governor keeps on focusing on establishing a casino industry on Saipan. The Fitial administration says the casino initiative and a fee simple initiative will help save the Fund, restore 80 work hours, and a host of financial problems.

Torres, for his part, said he does not appreciate Tenorio making false accusations about him or any other senator. He said he wants to focus on issues more critical than addressing accusations.

Torres said that thinking about 2014 is far from being his priority today.

Press secretary Angel Demapan said Tenorio’s claims “may be right.”

“Governor Fitial also does not understand why the senators refuse to make decisions that will help not just the economy, but the Retirement Fund as well,” he said.

Tenorio also said the Fitial administration-backed casino initiative has flaws and problems he wishes could be corrected. He had planned to launch his own Saipan casino initiative but decided to hold back on this.

“Every voter should ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’ when they sign that petition,” Froilan said, adding that a $5 million license fee and revenues will not be enough to restore 80 work hours biweekly and help the NMI Retirement Fund.

Tenorio also asked why the governor should be authorized to appoint three of the five Saipan casino commissioners when on Rota and Tinian, the mayors are the ones that appoint all the commissioners.

But Demapan said the initiative is aimed at benefiting the entire municipality of Saipan because the governor views the introduction of a casino industry as an opportunity to realize much needed revenue.

As to the appointment of commissioners, he said this wasn’t something that was single-handedly decided by the administration.

“The initiative was a collaborative effort by the House leadership and supported by the Fitial administration. That being said, the provisions of the initiative were deliberated by members of the leadership for quite some time. At no point during the preparation of the initiative did any member raise the issue of appointing commissioners. The bottom line here is that the administration is backing the casino initiative because the governor wants to see government employees return to 80-hour workweek and more importantly, to help the Retirement Fund. The appointment of commissioners is just an administrative function,” he said.