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Teno orders probe • Officials outnumbered players in recent Little League games, according to parents
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Posted on Aug 27 1999
Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said he would look into charges fired by some parents of the children playing for the CNMI All Star Far East League team against officials who were reportedly bingeing on public funds when they traveled with the group to Palau and Rota.
He disclosed, however, some who went to see these recent games spent their own money, while others were provided travel authorization by his administration.
“We’re looking into that,” Tenorio told in an interview. “From indications, some of the parents paid for their own fare when they stayed in Palau and there were few paid by the government travel authorization.”
The move followed complaints from “concerned parents” of the local Little League team, questioning several activities regarding these two trips, particularly expenses incurred by the government.
In an August 9 letter to Tenorio, the group called for investigation to “stop this practice right now,” noting the large delegation of 20 alleged officials by the CNMI government during the Rota games.
They said delegation from Guam and the Philippines comprised only of a maximum of three officials each, aside from coaches and players. They asked whether these CNMI officials “justified” their trip with Travel Authorization from the government.
“We, as parents, thought (the officials who) traveled to Rota were more than enough to play the Far East Tournament games,” the parents said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Tribune.
In addition, they also raised concern regarding the subsistence allowance granted to players, coaches and managers. They said it was their understanding that the hosting country would shoulder meals provisions, room, board and transportation.
“So what happened to the money? Why was it not mentioned? Why were the parents not told about the subsistence allowance,” asked the group.
Because of the alleged illegal activities that transpired in these two events, the parents now raised fear that same things might have happened in the trip by the team to Arizona for the world championship games.
“We strongly have faith in you and we will like for you and your office to do the right thing for our children in the CNMI,” they told Tenorio.
