Sablan leads public auditor nominees

A new Public Auditor is likely to be named this week by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio before outgoing OPA chief Leo L. LaMotte leaves the post he held for over six years.

Mike S. Sablan, the governor’s special advisor for finance and budget, is a shoo-in among the list of people under consideration to head the Office of Public Auditor.

Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations chair Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano yesterday backed Mr. Sablan as a “good and qualified” replacement for Mr. LaMotte.

He said members of the committee have also expressed support for the top finance official, but added others are still jockeying for the position and seeking endorsement from the senators.

“I will personally support [Mr. Sablan] if he gets the governor’s appointment,” Mr. Adriano told in an interview. “His chances are very high and he’s most likely to be nominated as the new Public Auditor.”

Mr. Sablan worked for Joeten Enterprises before joining the Tenorio administration in January 1998. He had been offered the OPA post twice in the past — the first in 1989 after getting his CPA certification.

According to the Tinian senator, the governor’s office has indicated that it is ready to submit its nomination to the committee by tomorrow.

The OPA position is appointed by the governor and is subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.

Mr. LaMotte is set to hold its last day in office on Friday. His resignation is effective on December 16.

The 63-year old official quit on October 4 which he considered retirement from government service. Mr. Tenorio immediately accepted the resignation.

Mr. LaMotte was named by former Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio to the critical post in July 1994. He was confirmed by senators only a year after his appointment.

Last October, the governor disclosed his office had received two applications from the U.S. mainland expressing interest to become public auditor in the CNMI.

Likewise, he is considering Mr. Sablan, former Finance Secretary Rex I. Palacios and Commerce Sec. Frankie T. Villanueva to succeed the outgoing official.

Mr. LaMotte’s resignation came after he apparently drew flak from the Tenorio administration for a news article where he said the CNMI government needs extra effort to fight graft and corruption in public service.

He noted the level of corruption on the islands as “quite intolerable.” Mr. LaMotte later wrote to the governor to clarify the statement, saying he did not characterize it as “rampant” and that he was misquoted by the reporter.