CUC board abolishes public information office

Brad Ruszala

After their executive session during the reconvening of the board last Monday, the board voted to abolish the position currently occupied by public information officer Brad Ruszala.

The motion to remove the position was carried after a 4-1 vote by the board. Chair Adelina Roberto, vice chair Eric San Nicolas, and directors Alberto Taitano and Diego Songao voted yes to the abolishment.

Directors Joe Torres and Chris Concepcion weren’t present in the meeting that afternoon.

Only director David Sablan voted no to the motion.

Sablan said he objected to the motion because he wanted to have more information on why the position was being removed.

Sablan said other members of the board only said that the position was “not needed.”

“If it’s really unnecessary then I want to know why,” Sablan said.

“There was no justification,” he added.

The PIO position was filled last year after the board said it needed it. Ruszala was then hired by CUC last April.

“What changed?” Sablan said.

Sablan noted that the public information position played an important role especially during the recovery phase after Typhoon Soudelor.

He also noted that the position, which was deemed to be redundant by other members, is not something that they could establish again after abolishing it.

Sablan said there was also no discussion on budget issues regarding the said position.

With the abolishment of the office, the responsibility of disseminating information to the public is now with the office of the executive director.

Aside from the administrative responsibilities, the said office will now be responsible in getting information from various divisions of CUC, write press releases, and be available to the media, according to Sablan.

Currently, Gary Camacho is serving CUC as the acting executive director.

Sablan said members of the board asked Camacho if he can handle the added responsibilities.

Saipan Tribune tried to get Camacho’s comment on the issue yesterday afternoon but was unable to reach him despite repeated phone calls. An email was not responded to as of press time.

Roberto also declined to speak on the matter when reached for comments.

In an interview, Ruszala told Saipan Tribune that no one informed him that his position was removed. He still reported for work yesterday.

“It is an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the Commonwealth and I appreciated the opportunity that was given when I was hired last year. I hope to continue doing so in the future,” Ruszala said.