Atalig gets 10 days for sexual harassment

Former Coastal Resources Management Office Director Felipe Q. Atalig was yesterday sentenced to 10 days imprisonment after he was convicted of sexually harassing a CRM employee.

Superior Court Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama also placed Mr. Atalig under house arrest in Rota and Saipan for a period of 30 and 45 days, respectively, and ordered the ex-director to perform 160 hours of community service in Rota, where the crime was committed.

Mr. Atalig was also asked to pay a fine of $6,500 in 30 days.

The court earlier found Mr. Atalig guilty of misconduct in public office, assault and battery and disturbing the peace.

A pre-sentence report submitted by the Probation Office recommended a 10 days imprisonment for Mr. Atalig. On the other hand, Assistant Attorney General Marvin Williams has sought a one year imprisonment for the former government official.

Mr. Atalig’s lawyer Michael Dotts immediately filed a notice of appeal before the Supreme Court to stop the scheduled incarceration of his client at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Saying Mr. Atalig deserves to be embarrassed, Judge Lizama expressed hope that the ex-government official has learned a lesson from the case. “I hope your rehabilitation will continue. I would have put you in jail for one year since you deserve that. The victim is not a prostitute, she is a good person,” Judge Lizama said.

He told Mr. Atalig that the court could have immediately sent him to jail for assault and battery of his own employee.

During the hearing, three friends of Mr. Atalig, namely former Sen. Jose P. Mafnas, Rota Mayor Benjamin T. Manglona and ex-Senate President Joseph S. Inos testified for the former CRMO director, vouching for his integrity as a family man and devotion to public service.

They told the court that Mr. Atalig has suffered enough when he was crucified by the media following his conviction thus, there is no need to put him to jail. Furthermore, they believed that Mr. Atalig no longer stands to win in any election or be appointed in any government office.

The case against Mr. Atalig stemmed from a complaint filed by Mina L. Muna, an administrative secretary at CRMO who charged that Mr. Atalig sexually harassed her on March 11 and 12, 1999 during a beautification project of the agency on the island-municipality of Rota.

According to court records, Ms. Muna stopped Mr. Atalig’s sexual advances several times at a restaurant and hotel where she was billeted but the former official ignored her pleas.