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Senate poised to declare Tinian seat vacant
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Posted on Nov 05 1999
Despite conflicting opinions, the Senate is likely to act on a joint resolution that will declare the seat of resigned Sen. Herman Manglona vacant and allow the holding of special elections on Tinian.
The Senate has scheduled its first session in over two months on Nov. 12 to tackle, among other things, the nomination of Masood Karimipour to the Public Defender’s Office where he is expected to be confirmed.
According to Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, he has also calendared the joint resolution offered by Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez formally accepting Manglona’s resignation.
If adopted, the measure, which will also need approval of the House of Representatives, will permit the Board of Elections to conduct special polls on Tinian to complete the four-year term of the embattled senator.
Manglona, who was elected to the Senate in 1997, resigned from the Legislature in September immediately after pleading guilty to the charges filed against him in connection with federal projects he administered while still a mayor of Tinian.
The federal district court on Saipan has scheduled to hand down its sentence on Manglona on Dec. 21.
This is the first time that an elected official has resigned from his position and the Senate apparently has varied opinions on how to deal with the situation.
Sen. David M. Cing, chair of the Credential Committee formed by the upper house, said last week that they still need to wait for the court sentencing before acting on the resignation.
While not casting doubt on the authority of the committee, Reyes maintained that it’s about time the vacancy be declared to permit the holding of the elections in the island municipality.
“The seat is now vacant, there is no question about that, so what we have to do is to declare it vacant so that Tinian can hold special elections,” said the senator.
Reyes pointed out that he will ask the House to hold a back-to-back session with the Senate to immediately act on Villagomez’ proposal.
