Dire need for integrity

Amidst mounting pressure, Sen. Frank Q. Cruz of Tinian delivered the unexpected: rejection of several Republican nominees for questionable deals or ill-conceived decisions or the debacle of serving two masters. It’s a heavy load of issues he’s decided to dissect thoroughly.

The debate has turned viral, though Cruz’s determination to press ahead could lead into a dreaded, if not humiliating implosion against those battling to derail the probe into the filthy swamp of bitter provincial politics.

Cruz heads the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigation, or EAGI. It is a difficult committee to head if you’re a man of integrity. Cruz is a man of integrity who holds his ground to begin emptying the filthy swamp on the hill.

Senator Cruz could have played the usual dish of filthy politics by conveniently skipping the controversy triggered by serious questions emanating from his committee on MPLT’s purchase of real estate. He’s seen the explosive juvenile reactions from among key players who yell “foul,” not because it is riddled with false information but because Cruz could get to the truth. This is the obvious fear from people of interest, though he will definitely do, if not already did, the required paper trail to nail the beast to its cross.

For myopic dissenters, you need to revisit your definition and understanding of integrity, sense of accountability, perception of the term leadership, and commitment to your oath of office. If you’re so far removed from these terms, then you know that your weak-kneed position makes you a perennial serial violator of the laws of the NMI. If need be, please cross check your coconuts to see if personal integrity is still intact.

Why is Cruz’s effort admirable? Simple: He has a sense of purpose and conviction to inform governance of the “truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” Thanks, sir, for that rare courage and conviction. You’ve taken the pain and unjustified humiliation to stand together with governance. It’s a pleasantry that I haven’t seen here for over three decades. You’ve confirmed that there are still a few good men left to do what is right. What you’ve done is essentially the strengthening of the CNMI’s democratic institutions. Si Yuus Ma’ase’ and congratulations!

A once heralded holiday

With occasional showers threatening to provide sustenance to parched brown grass all over, there’s the wake-like silence too that turned last Friday-now an unheralded legal holiday, not to mention an unpaid holiday-into just another inconsequential cotton ball passing event. Sad.

Gone are the days when we meet this day with words of wisdom from messages cascading from the hill or renewed spirit to reawaken the responsibilities of U.S. citizens among Chamorros and Carolinians. The only thing missing on this day was a requiem Mass and an internment schedule to bring it to closure.

Apathy has permeated or descended steadily among the underemployed and unemployed or families, cringing as they prepare to pay their utility bills the next day. Or is the strange feeling partly forced by the Lenten season? But isn’t this religious event supposed to grant us hope and lead us into spiritual renewal on Easter? Some strange Friday that I find nearly disorienting, what with scorching heat and eerie silence everywhere.

Nonetheless, it was 37 years ago that we held a large festive ceremony loaded with pomp and circumstance, celebrating our entry into the “American political family.” It was a permanent relationship viewed by its architects as a showcase for the region of everything that could go right as a part of the greatest country on earth.

Somehow all the hopes and excitement that met this occasion slowly drained into the swamp of a very dysfunctional relationship between the CNMI and the feds. Where did things go wrong that derailed a synergistic working relationship between the two governments? Did we ignore the very vehicle that would have promoted meaningful discussions with Washington as time progresses? If so, why were we negligent of this vehicle known as the Commission on Federal Laws?

Then came the economic boom of the ’80s and ’90s that went bust shortly. The NMI had tons of money founded on the combined economy of apparel manufacturing, tourism, and small businesses. Did we experience an economic burnout, thus the steady loss of investors shortly thereafter? As it shifted fatally under our feet, did we lift a finger to recalibrate paradigms or did we, like a losing gambler, stayed around to wait for the delayed bad tidings that he’s lost it all? Well, it shows our shortsightedness and comfortable dalliance with ad hoc planning over the more thoughtful planning process. Dazed, we ask: why did investors leave? Why question your own awareness?

There were draconian federal laws that hastened the investment drain of some $3 billion to $7 billion that once was recycled locally. The additional cost is horrific not to mention our adolescent contribution by taxing businesses until making a profit turns highly prohibitive. We forced them into thinking with their feet while holding their luggage and sure enough they just headed to jetways and said sayonara. This led to revenue streams accelerating further south, the net effect being a huge plunge in annual revenues that went from $256 million annually to $102 million today.

For all the deafening travails of a new economic reality of sheer dystopia, meaning, where nothing works, strange too that last Friday felt like, well, Good Friday. A` Saina!

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Political fireflies

The boys don colorful political wings and have started turning into the firefly mode: Illuminate their lights to flash their candidacy, though they can’t keep it on beyond a couple of seconds. It dies off by itself given its short lifespan. But it’s a flash faint as it may be.

The metaphor may be strange, but take a closer look at the time frame the six-legged creature illuminates lights: woefully short. That it’s so short reflects the apparent attitude by incumbents to do quick flashers in order to deflect or hide their dastardly performance in the last two years. If you know your performance, then it would be oxymoronic to chance publicly asking for support. You’d end up doing the mea culpa of “shame on me.”

But must governance repeat with failures that have changed into habitual serial violators of the public trust? For incumbents and new recruits, do you really have the wherewithal to do serious work on policymaking? Why are you so scared of being infected with the virus of reason? If you’re a hotshot, then why is the CNMI in the abyss of a woefully chaotic economy, forcing the multitude to march toward financial servitude? Were you part of the solution or more of a problem by playing up brinkmanship? Have you undertaken placing a framework to boost revenue generation via the long thoughtful process? Wait, I think Jay Leno’s on tonight.