Manibusan says he didn’t join Hawaii conference to save govt funds

Contrary to allegations by Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson, Attorney General Edward Manibusan has explained that he did not attend a conference in Hawaii last March because he did not want to spend an additional $2,730 of government funds to book a refundable ticket.

In a declaration issued last Wednesday, Manibusan said he was invited to attend the Council of Western Attorneys General Pacific Island Summit, which took place from March 14 to 16, 2017 in Honolulu.

Manibusan said he received two price quotes from Royal Travel Saipan Inc. for a ticket to Hawaii for the conference.

He said both flights went through Guam and that the cost for a non-refundable ticket was $1,670 and the cost for a refundable ticket was $4,400.

The AG said that last Feb. 15, after his lawsuit against Larson was filed, he requested a travel authorization for a ticket to Hawaii.

“I wanted to take a non-refundable ticket, but the Department of Finance would only allow me to use a refundable ticket,” Manibusan said.

The AG said because he did not want to book a refundable ticket and spend $2,730 more of public funds, he did not book a flight.

Manibusan made the declaration in support of his opposition to Larson’s motion to disqualify him from the lawsuit against her.

Manibusan’s lawsuit seeks to enjoin Larson from paying the governor, lieutenant governor, and lawmakers the increased salaries found in Public Law 19-83.

Larson asked the Superior Court to dismiss the case and disqualify Manibusan from continuing as counsel or party to this lawsuit.

Larson hired former AG Matthew T. Gregory and attorney Kimberlyn K. King-Hinds as her counsel in this case. She stated in her declaration that she was forced to seek outside counsel at the expense of CNMI taxpayers.

In her declaration in support of her motion to disqualify Manibusan, Larson disclosed that upon initiating the lawsuit against her, Manibusan submitted a travel authorization to the office.

Larson said Manibusan refused to fly through Japan and stated he did not want to stay there overnight.

She said Manibusan’s staff has been pushing her office to allow a direct flight costing $4,000 over a flight through Japan that costs $1,800.

She said Finance makes exceptions if the difference in ticket is a small amount.

“For tickets that have a significant price differences, DOF typically allows travel on the lower airfare,” Larson said.

The secretary believes that it is unfair to force her to defend a statute when she has no opinion on the ultimate issues posed by Manibusan’s lawsuit.

Manibusan’s lawsuit alleges that Public Law 19-83, which provided the salary increases, is unconstitutional because the Advisory Commission that recommended such increase was not validly constituted, and that such increase recommended by the commission for the Legislature exceeded the change in an “accepted price index” since the last time the salary was adjusted.

Manibusan asked the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions to prevent Larson from implementing the law.