No Senate journal record of Brown’s confirmation

The Senate journal of a November 2003 session on Rota mentions nothing about the confirmation of attorney general Pamela Brown, boosting claims by the Public Defenders Office and other groups that the official is illegally occupying her post.

The Senate journal for the ninth special session on Nov. 17, 2003—the date that Brown was supposed to have been confirmed as attorney general by the Senate led by then Senate President Paul Manglona—reflects no record of Standing Committee Report 13-93 being adopted or approved.

SCR 13-93 was the report submitted by the Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations, then chaired by Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, recommending the confirmation of Brown as attorney general.

Based on that journal, the five Senate members present—Manglona, Adriano, Diego Songao, and then newly sworn-in members Joseph Mendiola and Paterno Hocog—only acted on standing committee reports 13-77 to 13-81.

The Manglona-led group, which at that time had just regained the majority of the upper chamber, approved during that session SCR 13-78 suspending minority bloc senators David M. Cing, Pete P. Reyes, Thomas Villagomez, and Ramon S. Guerrero for 30 days “for violating the CNMI Constitution and the official rules of the Senate,” as well as SRC 13-79 suspending Villagomez for 45 days “for his involvement in a scheme to defraud the CNMI government.”

The Manglona bloc convened its session at 11:25am and adjourned at 1:48pm, with SCR 13-81—requesting the governor to recall Serafin M. Dela Cruz from the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s board of directors—as the last item on the agenda.

The session was held at the Rota Round House in Songsong.

The Nov. 17, 2003, journal was prepared by Senate journal clerk Ramona I. Kapileo and reviewed by Senate legislative assistant George N. Camacho.

Senate legal counsel Antonio Cabrera, who was present at the session, is currently off-island.

When reached yesterday, Senate legal counsel Michael L. Ernest said that he has not been asked by any senator to prepare an opinion on the issue.

Since the issue is before the court now, he said, “I trust that the issue will be fully and expertly argued.” Ernest was not connected with the Senate at that time.

‘No recording’

Sen. Pete Reyes also revealed in an interview yesterday that the tape recording of the Rota session in Nov. 2003 has no mention of Brown’s confirmation as well.

“We listened to the tape over and over again and there’s nothing there. There is a voting list but it it’s not on the tape,” said Reyes. “It’s highly questionable. As far as I’m concerned she [Brown] is not AG. I never recognized her as AG.”

Reyes said he would be willing to testify in court on existing petitions to unseat the attorney general based on the legitimacy issue.

Meanwhile, the Senate Order of Business on Nov. 17, 2003, also did not show a line-item agenda for Brown’s confirmation.

It must be noted that, in a Sept. 17, 2003 session, the bloc of Reyes, who had claimed the Senate presidency and the chamber’s majority, had junked SCR 13-93.

Reyes group had mustered a quorum of four members, following the resignation of Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz and the conviction of Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig on federal wire fraud charges.

The Senate power struggle led to a lawsuit, with Manglona’s group asking the court to declare the sessions held on Aug. 27 and Sept. 17, 2003 as null and void.

After the Rota special elections and the midterm polls, Manglona regained majority in the Senate, with the election of Rota senator Paterno Hocog and Joseph Mendiola.

The Public Defender’s Office had questioned this week Brown’s legitimacy on behalf of its client, MD Aktar Hossain, who is facing criminal charges in court.

The Public Defender asked the Superior Court to dismiss the information filed against Hossain, citing that it was not brought by a lawfully appointed attorney general.

The Office, an independent program under the Governor’s Office, alleged that Brown has usurped the position of attorney general and has been instituting criminal prosecutions illegally.

Hossain was reportedly charged with sexually abusing a minor several times since last year.

The Public Defender’s Office also filed the same motion on behalf of another defendant, Joaquin Peredo.

The AGO, in a previous response, maintained that Brown is the duly authorized attorney general, pointing out that she was confirmed to the seat by a vote held by the Senate.

Meanwhile, former Justice Pedro M. Atalig, on behalf of his client, former Senate President Juan Demapan, also petitioned the court to unseat Brown, alleging that she has been holding her position illegally.

Petitioners had cited that Brown could not be re-nominated after the Sept. 14, 2003 deadline for her confirmation.

‘She is legitimate’

Senate President Joaquin Adriano insists that that Senate had indeed voted to confirm Brown as attorney general during the session on Rota. He said that Brown received five “yes” votes from the five members present.

“We did confirm the [attorney general]. The result was legitimate and final. I wonder why this issue continues to pop up,” he said.

When asked about the absence of records at the Senate journal, Adriano said he is “not sure about it.”

“I’ll check on that. But I think even if it’s not [on] the journal, the voting list proves she was confirmed,” said Adriano.

“But that’s very unusual—not being [on] the journal and not in the tape, yet there’s a voting list. As I’ve said, it’s highly questionable,” quipped Sen. Reyes in a separate interview.

Adriano, for his part, opined that Reyes’s position is understandable since he has always been opposed to Brown’s confirmation.

Adriano suggested that the tape may have been damaged or may be inaudible because the Senate clerk had only used a regular tape recorder during the session on Rota.

Commenting on the issue yesterday, governor’s press secretary Pete A. Callaghan said the administration has always believed that Brown is the legitimate attorney general.

Callaghan also doubted that the case would prosper in court, citing that over a year ago, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Govendo stated that the Senate power struggle was not a matter for the court to decide.

“Didn’t the judge say it’s up to the Senate and advised the Senate to grow up? I don’t know if they’re going to find a judge to rule on it now. There’s kind of separation of power thing,” he said.

“It’s the administration’s position that Pam is legitimate in her position as AG. That’s what we’re sticking with,” he added.

As to lawyers questioning Brown’s position, Callaghan said, “Perhaps, they don’t have much of a case.”