GOP: Opposition is desperate

Republican Party chair John S. Reyes described yesterday as “an act of desperation” an opposition party’s recent political ad that accuses the sitting governor of “special interest” ties with a California-based investor, Sedy Demesa.

“They’re employing dirty political tricks to discredit somebody. The Republican Party cannot tolerate that. That’s an act of desperation,” said Reyes.

On the impression that Demesa deliberately put out media outlets solely to promote the re-election of Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente, Reyes said, “that’s unlikely.”

“She’s a legitimate and prosperous businesswoman. I don’t think that [those media outlets were] put out just to please the governor and get something in return,” said Reyes.

Demesa owns the weekly publication Pacific Times and the monthly P magazine, which began circulation in the CNMI early this year.

Demesa, who owns majority shares in Pleasant Care, a company that operates convalescent homes in California and Nevada that have reportedly a combined annual gross income of $224 million, is also pursuing nursing education and healthcare business in the CNMI.

Demesa is also the majority owner of Pacific Towers Inc., the company that recently acquired the Koreana Hotel-Saipan “to consolidate her local operations related to health, education and entertainment businesses.”

Reyes said that Demesa’s entry to the CNMI came as a result of the Department of the Interior-sponsored business conference over two years ago.

“This is a product of the L.A. conference. What do you do with that? Scare her away? Critics have been bombarding, faulting the governor every time a business is going out. Now that we have investments here, they still accuse the governor. We’re inviting investors to come in, are we trying to stop them again?” he said.

The Covenant Party’s ad alleged that Demesa has been spending thousands of dollars by sponsoring a free magazine, a free newspaper, a television show, and website “for the glaringly obvious benefit of a sitting governor’s reelection campaign.”

“My business operations in the Northern Marianas are too small to necessitate special interest relations with anyone from the government,” said Demesa in an earlier statement.

“I am shocked that a political group would stoop down to the level of maligning a legitimate small investor’s person and intentionally put false colors to a purely government-investor relation just so they can discredit an opponent and desperately try to win votes,” she had said.

The Covenant Party has maintained that the publications are manifestly propaganda supporting the reelection bid of Babauta.

Reyes also described as “unacceptable” the opposition party’s “willful act” to digitally alter the picture of Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Albert Del Rosario “to make him the governor” shaking hands with Demesa.

“That’s dirty. They’re very much in desperation that they’d continue to do that unless there’s a legal action to deter them,” said Reyes.

He said, though, that any legal action will not come from the party, but possibly from either Babauta or Demesa.