Extradition as political posturing

It is election year and Vice Speaker Frank S. Dela Cruz has already turned on the fan to have former governor Benigno Fitial extradited from the Philippines. I am no fan of the former governor nor of Rep. Dela Cruz but I am apprehensive of his motive, which appears to be from push to shoving the present governor to do something about it. Time is of the essence here, I would suspect, for the vice speaker because election is only seven months away. I don’t believe in political party platforms as they are more often than not shelved to collect dust after an election is lost and at times more so when an election is won. Short-term memory mindset.

I hope the vice speaker will not continue this extradition crusade as his campaign theme and platform between now and November. It serves the voting public better if he’d come up with some brilliant idea that can mitigate if not solve the multitude of financial obligations of the CNMI government because the voting public will be bored, I will be bored, and the Judiciary will be bored as well with the extradition theme.

The Fitial impeachment clamor worked in the last election but it will not work this time. The public is hurting financially at every turn and Fitial’s extradition will not lessen the family bills to pay, provide relief to the 25 percent retirement cut, and lower their utility bills and lower their health insurance premium, among other pressing issues.

The voting public is also more interested in knowing what the vice speaker has accomplished in the last three terms as a lawmaker and what he intends to offer the voting public this time other than the extradition of an individual that has not even been arrested. Special prosecutor Hasselback made this very clear. Apparently, Rep. Dela Cruz failed to consult with a legal counsel about the extradition process before spouting his unprofessional opinion on TV and in newspaper interviews.

I really don’t know what Rep. Dela Cruz had accomplished as a legislator in the lower house. The only things that came out from his office since being elected to public office are the following: (1) perennial clashing with CUC for personal aggrandizement and re-election posturing; (2) crusaded with other representatives to impeach Fitial. It was a collective accomplishment and he became a vice speaker as a result, I guess; (3) nothing worth noting on revenue generation for the government. He has not come up with one revenue generating idea to help the financially strapped government. It is very convenient and easy to scrutinize anything that moves but to offer solutions of substance and structurally sound is a different thing and the vice speaker is in this club; (4) vice speaker Dela Cruz is very opposed to having a 2nd Political Status Commission because he wants the federal government to do everything for the CNMI. A colonial subject mentality. I think that Rep. Dela Cruz has no faith in the competence of the CNMI leaders (including himself) to handle CNMI affairs and to challenge the federal government’s violations on sovereignty and self-government issues stipulated in the Covenant Agreement with the United States. He bows and kisses Uncle Sam’s ring regardless of whether it is for the right or wrong reasons; (5) to ante this extradition campaign theme, he is pushing the current governor to stop everything that he is tackling like the contentious 25 percent retirement pension deferral, severely underfunded healthcare services at CHC, costly Obamacare insurance premium, costly CUC utility rates, the military’s planned use of CNMI islands that will cause economic, environment and social disruptions, aggressive efforts to explore revenue generating sources, and so forth.

Rep. Dela Cruz wants the governor to do everything and anything to get Fitial extradited before the November election. I say no to this kind of political posturing by Vice Speaker Frank Dela Cruz. Stop the media politicking, roll up your sleeves and get on the wagon to go to work on revenue generating explorations for more revenues like some other lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Inos administration. Talantan hao Frank ya un fachocho sa ti para un sigeha matachong gi ofisinamo, man insora, umabla ya otro siha chumochogue y chechomo.

Joseph A. Sablan
Kagman III, Saipan