Drama, twists in Palacios-Apatang ascension

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, right, and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang will take their oath at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe this morning, Monday. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

Similar to the November 2022 general and gubernatorial runoff elections, the ascension of Arnold I. Palacios and David M. Apatang as the 10th governor and lieutenant governor positions of the CNMI was also full of drama and twists.

As the Palacios-Apatang administration officially starts today, people have high expectations with their campaign slogan “Rebuilding Trust,” as well as from the “unity pledge” that they had signed with then-Reps. Christina E. Sablan and Leila F. Staffler of the Democratic Party.

The Palacios-Apatang independent tandem and the Democratic Party coalesced to defeat then-governor Ralph DLG Torres and his running mate, then-Sen. Vinnie F. Sablan (R-Saipan) in the gubernatorial runoff race.

Under the “unity pledge,” Palacios-Apatang agreed to address many issues, including opening up the CNMI’s financial books, ending nepotism and political intimidation within the government, restoring the integrity of law enforcement agencies, instituting election reform, improving and expanding access to healthcare, establishing a robust workforce development program for the CNMI, and completing long-delayed disaster recovery and infrastructure development projects.

Then-Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, left, and then-Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang appear at the American Memorial Parks Visitors’ Center during a town hall meeting hosted by the Northern Marianas College. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

It was in October 2021 when Palacios, at the time the lieutenant governor, confirmed with the media that he would be running for governor with then-Saipan Mayor Apatang as his running mate as an independent slate for the November 2022 general elections. Palacios stated that there’s a crisis in the Commonwealth, a crisis of confidence in the government.

Palacios made the announcement a day after Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan disclosed on social media that he would be seeking re-election as a delegate.

Sablan’s announcement ended the Democratic Party’s hope to have him as their candidate for governor to challenge the candidacy of then-incumbent Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.

On Oct. 21, 2021, Palacios and Apatang officially declared their candidacies, which was built on the campaign slogan “Rebuilding Trust.”

At that time, Palacios said he is not closing the door to the Democratic Party, which has invited them to submit a letter of intent to run. Apatang, however, in a separate interview, said they would indeed run on an independent slate.

At that time, the Democratic Party had yet to announce that then-Rep. Christina Sablan (D-Saipan) would be their bet for governor.

A shocking twist to the story happened on May 31, 2022, when Palacios was taken to the Commonwealth Health Center after collapsing during a break while giving testimony in the criminal case against Torres in Superior Court.

Three days later, he was transported from Saipan to the Queens Center in Honolulu via military aircraft for additional testing and treatment. Palacios’ office said Palacios was experiencing in pain in his lower back.

Many people in the community and supporters of Palacios-Apatang were stunned as the big question was whether Palacios would still pursue his candidacy upon recovery.

On July 16, 2022, or after more than 40 days of being away from the CNMI, Palacios arrived on Saipan aboard a flight from Hawaii. It was a dramatic arrival as many of Palacios-Apatang supporters lined the Tun Herman Pan Road to greet Palacios and his wife, Wella. Among those who welcomed the couple were some Democratic Party lawmakers.

Palacios assured their supporters at that time that, regardless of his physical health, he is still committed to give it his best to run as governor.

In the Nov. 8 general elections, Torres and Sablan topped in the three-way gubernatorial race after garnering 5,728 total votes, or an 838-vote lead over Palacios-Apatang, which received 4,890 votes.

As Torres-Sablan failed to get the majority votes after obtaining only 38.83% of the total votes, this paved the way for the Nov. 25 gubernatorial runoff race between Torres-Sablan and Palacios-Apatang.

Then-Rep. Sablan and her running mate, then-Rep. Staffler, of the Democratic Party, which got 4,132 votes, immediately conceded defeat and threw their support behind the Palacios-Apatang team in the runoff race.

Palacios and Apatang eventually came out victorious by a margin of 1,131 votes over Torres-Sablan in the Nov. 25 gubernatorial runoff race.

Palacios and Apatang will take their oath as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe this morning, Monday.