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Hocog is acting presiding impeachment officer
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Posted on May 11 2022
The impeachment proceedings against Gov. Ralph DLG Torres has officially been set to start on May 13, followed by a memorandum issued by acting presiding hearing officer Sen. Victor Hocog (R-Rota) yesterday.
In a brief interview with Hocog later, he confirmed that he is currently serving as acting presiding hearing officer while Senate President Jude Hofschneider (R-Rota) is off-island.
Hocog said Hofschneider will be back on Thursday, in time to preside over the start of the impeachment proceedings.
Hocog
According to the memorandum calling for the attendance of the entire Senate body, the proceedings will start at 10am at the Senate chamber of the Legislature, officially called the Honorable Jesus P. Mafnas Memorial building, on Capital Hill.
“The hearing shall continue day to day until its conclusion, not to include weekends and holidays unless otherwise advised. Upon commencement of the hearing, all legislative and other business of the Senate shall be suspended until the conclusion of the hearing,” Hocog stated in his memo.
Written and oral testimonies regarding the impeachment proceedings are welcome.
Written testimonies must be submitted to the Office of the Senate clerk or emailed to Dolores Bermudes at doloresbermudes.lb@gmail.com before the hearing.
Oral testimonies may be presented during the hearing as long as it does not exceed five minutes.
In a previous article on the Saipan Tribune, Torres said he is unsure whether he will be appearing at the impeachment proceedings on Friday. Torres said he will gladly be there if his legal counsel advises him to do so.
“I’ll leave it to my legal counsel. If my legal counsel suggests that I should be present then I will be,” he said.
