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Teno to name AG this week
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Posted on Feb 08 2000
A permanent Attorney General is expected to be named this week as Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio assured yesterday that he has whittled down his list to a few chosen ones who may be appointed to the critical post.
“If I have to consider so many names I won’t be able to submit [my nomination] this week. The individual’s name will come out,” he told reporters.
“Definitely this week,” added Mr. Tenorio when asked when he is going to announce his AG appointment.
The governor named last Jan. 25 Assistant Attorney General Nicole C. Forelli from the AGO Criminal Division as temporary chief government lawyer to replace Deputy Attorney General Maya B. Kara.
The move came after the Superior Court ordered Ms. Kara to step down and for Mr. Tenorio to appoint a permanent AG to comply with the constitutional provisions.
But three weeks since the ruling came out, the chief executive has yet to submit his nominee, fueling speculation that he is having a hard time convincing likely candidates.
In the landmark decision issued last Jan. 20, Guam-based Judge Pro Tem Joaquin V.E. Manibusan ruled that Mr. Tenorio’s appointment of Ms. Kara was unconstitutional since she had assumed the post more than the required 30-day period.
Ms. Kara, a former legal counsel of the House of Representatives, was appointed in July 1998 and had since named by the governor as acting Attorney General 16 times despite two rejections on her nomination by the Senate.
According to the court, the executive branch has usurped the Senate’s advice and consent powers by repeatedly appointing her and that the governor has disregarded and sidestepped the required procedures.
Prior to the ruling, Mr. Tenorio had repeatedly told the press that he would soon come up with a new nominee to replace Ms. Kara who was rejected twice by the 11th Senate.
