Manglona: Impeachment Rules drafted with allegiance to Torres

Paul A.Manglona

Sen. Paul A. Manglona (Ind-Rota) said it is very clear that the Impeachment Rules that the two Senate committees adopted Friday were drafted with allegiance to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres before his trial.

“There is no way that we, the Senate, can hold an unbiased trial with these rules in place,” said Manglona in a statement he provided to Saipan Tribune Monday night.

Manglona was supposed to deliver the statement as a member of the public and not as a senator during Monday’s Senate’s session, but Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) did not allow him as the public comment portion was already closed. The microphone at the podium had been turned off just as Manglona was about to deliver his statement.

The special session intended to tackle the Impeachment Rules was abruptly adjourned after Manglona and Sen. Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota) almost came to blows inside the Senate chamber during a recess.

In his statement, Manglona took issue with three points: the Impeachment Rules call for the impeachment committee to hold a pre-hearing’ the impeachment proceedings are not intended to be conducted like a criminal trial; and prescribing a standard of proof to use during the impeachment proceedings.

On pre-hearing issue, the senator noted that under the Rules, the impeachment committee, not the whole Senate body, would hold a hearing to make a preliminary determination on the Articles of Impeachment and whether the articles do in fact constitute treason, commission of a felony, corruption or neglect of duty, and whether all elements are satisfied.

“This is the constitutional duty of the whole Senate body, as jurors, after listening to the House of Representatives present their case at the impeachment hearing, and not the duty of a select few, who I might add, are all Republicans,” he said.

On how the impeachment proceedings should be intended, Manglona said the purpose of impeachment is not personal punishment, but to protect the public interest rather than impose a punitive measure on an individual.

He said the House functions like a prosecutor’s office in terms of presenting evidence of wrongdoing before the Senate.

The senator said the Senate should not dictate who the House prosecutor will be as that is not a decision for the Senate to make. Manglona said the House is a separate entity of this Legislature, and they should have the liberty to decide who will present their case to the Senate.

On the standard of proof matter, he said this standard was not provided for in the impeachment rules for then-governor Benigno R. Fitial.

The senator said jurors in criminal trials are asked to make factual determinations and not convict a defendant unless there is proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

He said in impeachment proceedings, senators, who act as jurors, are making both factual determinations and political judgments.

“This is the most important reason why it is difficult to set a standard of proof in impeachment proceedings,” Manglona said.

He said using a judicial proceeding standard is inapplicable and inappropriate in impeachment proceedings because impeachment is, by its nature, a proceeding where the public interest weighs more heavily than the interests of the individual being impeached, in this case the sitting governor.

Manglona said senators should not waver from their duty because of their allegiance to the sitting governor. “Our people demand a fair trial. It is our jobs, as senators, to conduct a fair and impartial hearing,” he added.

Manglona, a runner-up in the November 2014 election for a Senate seat for Rota, was appointed in early 2016 to the vacant seat that Hocog left when he (Hocog) ascended to the position of lieutenant governor after the passing of Gov. Eloy S. Inos in December 2015.

Manglona was then the longest serving member of the Legislature after 25 years, thrice as Senate president, until Hocog defeated him in the 2012 elections.

In November 2013, Manglona returned to the Senate after then-acting governor and now Senate president Jude Hofschneider appointed him to the 18th Senate when the CNMI Supreme Court ruled that the successful candidate in the 2012 election—and not in the 2009 polls—should be appointed to the seat vacated by former Rota senator Juan M. Ayuyu.

Manglona won as a senator in the Nov. 3, 2020, election. His current term ends on Jan. 13, 2025.