Only Babauta takes part in ‘job interview’

Like previous forums that featured gubernatorial candidates for the 2014 general elections, only former governor Juan N. Babauta took part in the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s Gubernatorial Forum last night at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center.

Independent Juan N. Babauta was the lone gubernatorial candidate who attended last night’s Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s Gubernatorial Forum at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center. (Jayson Camacho)

Chamber president Alex Sablan said “every effort and every attempt” was made to have all the candidates for governor attend the event but only Babauta showed up and it’s a credit to him that he attended the forum despite the circumstances.

Speaking before a sparse crowd of around 40, Babauta said his approach on gubernatorial forums is that they’re like job interviews in that you have to show up for it if you really want the job.

“I view the gubernatorial forum as application for a job. I’m always prepared to go through the interview. I’m prepared to answer questions,” the independent candidate said in his opening statement.

With incumbent Gov. Eloy S. Inos of the CNMI Republican Party, CNMI Democratic Party’s Edward M. Deleon Guerrero, and independent Heinz S. Hofschneider all absent, the Chamber veered away from its usual format.

Instead of five randomly picked questions, Babauta was allowed to answer all questions submitted to the Chamber days before the event.

The first question involved the casino industry and whether Babauta was amenable to using proceeds from it to pay the 25 percent deferred payment of retirees’ pensions.

Babauta said the issue is already moot with the passage of the casino law but he would’ve tackled it differently by making sure that the deal wouldn’t have been too lopsided in favor of the casino industry.

He said this could’ve been done with a labor, wage, and development provisions in the casino law that would prevent CNMI taxpayers “from getting burned in the future.”

On the land alienation issue, Babauta said he’s in favor of less restrictive and longer land leases in the case of public lands, but in another breath said that Article 11 and 12 didn’t prevent the CNMI from enjoying an economic boom in the 1990s.

The former governor said that if he is fortunate enough to win the governorship, he will make sure to pay the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. on time to avoid issues currently plaguing the utilities company, which is owed $27 million by the government.

On whether the public auditor should be an elected position, Babauta said he doesn’t want to politicize the post and that the vetting process of the House of Representatives is good enough to screen the public auditor’s credibility and aptitude for the job,

Babauta was also asked if the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is better served with a governing board than an advisory board and the former CHCC CEO said he would prefer the former than the latter. He said autonomy would allow CHCC to do its job better and steer it away from political interference.

On the Public School System getting 25 percent of the annual CNMI budget under House Legislative Initiative 18-12, Babauta said the current setup is working, with the government currently appropriating about a quarter of its budget despite the CNMI Constitution only requiring 15 percent.

He said he would also convince former CNMI residents and students abroad to return to the islands by coming up with what he calls a “wage creation” that will give them competitive salaries that can keep up with the rising cost of living.

To do this, he will need the cooperation of private companies and organizations like the Chamber, adding that better compensated employees will result in happier employees that are loyal and more productive.

Higher pay will also give them disposable income that will circulate in the local economy, Babauta said in an interview after the forum.

On the issue of Pagan and the proposed divert airfield on Saipan, Babauta said it all boils down on the promise of the Covenant and whether what the military is proposing will be of benefit to the local community.

He said he would like to sit down with the U.S. Department of Defense and present to them his and the community’s concerns, adding that “bombing Pagan for public purpose” is debatable.

Under the Covenant, the U.S. military has the right to exercise eminent domain in the CNMI for public purpose.

It was earlier reported that Hofschneider and Torres begged off from attending the event because of the absence of Inos. The latter was set to return to Saipan yesterday but sources said he’s still in the Philippines after scheduling problems with his flight.

Aside from the Chamber, the Northern Marianas College and the Northern Marianas Descent Corp. also held forums for governor candidates and only Babauta attended.