Inos en route back home

Gov. Eloy S. Inos may yet take part in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s Gubernatorial Forum tonight after acting press secretary Ivan Blanco confirmed that the CNMI Republic Party standard bearer is now en route to Saipan.

“He is out of the hospital [in the Philippines] is what I heard. All I heard is he’s en route. Details I do not have,” said Blanco in a phone interview with Saipan Tribune last night.

Blanco, who is also the media officer of the local GOP, added that the governor is “doing well” and in the “recovery period” following a routine medial procedure in the Philippine capital.

While stopping short of guaranteeing that Inos will attend tonight’s forum, Blanco, however, said that the governor is looking forward to joining his fellow candidates at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose this evening.

“He’s really excited to do it. He wants to do it,” said Blanco.

He said that Inos’ attendance in the Chamber forum is entirely up to him and officials of the CNMI Republic Party.

“Not only me deciding, but the entire GOP election campaign team. You know when you’re jetlagged, you’re sleepy. He may be kind of tired from the flight and we don’t want to force him to do it,” Blanco said.

Inos’ return has been one of the bigger water cooler topics in the run-up to the 2014 elections next week. It has already caused the Chamber to postpone last Monday the original date of its Gubernatorial Forum.

In an interview yesterday morning during the graduation ceremony for Customs officers, acting governor Jude U. Hofschneider said Inos was still off-island.

“The governor wouldn’t miss this if he was on-island,” adding that as to when the governor will return to the CNMI is up to his daughters and his physicians.

Chamber executive director Jill Arenovski said that, as of 7pm last night, only the camp of independent candidate Juan N. Babauta has confirmed participation in the forum.

John Reyes, the chairperson of the former governor’s campaign, said that Babauta was prepared for Monday’s Gubernatorial Forum and tonight’s rescheduled event.

“The Babauta-Torres leadership is ready, willing, and able to participate fully in [last Monday’s] scheduled debate, but yielded to the Chamber’s suggestion to postpone the event in order to give the other candidates two more days’ preparation time to participate in the rescheduled forum this Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014, at the same time.”

Arenovski said the campaigns of former House speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider and Edward M. Deleon Guerrero are still undecided if they will attend the forum because of Inos’ reported absence.

Arenovski, however, hopes that with news of Inos’ return, the camps of Hofschneider and Deleon Guerrero will have a change of heart and take part in the debate.

The CNMI Democratic Party candidate for lieutenant governor, Danny Quitugua, in an interview before news broke that Inos is on a flight back to Saipan, said a scheduling conflict was the one of the reasons behind Deleon Guerrero not attending the Chamber event.

“We are approaching the 11th hour before the election. All the candidates, including the governor, have plugged in what they’re going to do in preparation to D-Day. That particular day has already been booked,” he said, alluding to the Democratic Party strategy meeting for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota as well as an orientation for poll workers and supervisors set for this evening.

Quitugua said Inos’ absence is another reason why the Democrats are skipping the forum.

“One of the main reasons is also the absence of our governor. In respect to that unfortunate situation, the candidates thought rather than take advantage of his absence it would be better to reset it.”