Crisostimo: Not so fast!

Saipan Sen. Luis Crisostimo has advised Sen. Joseph Mendiola not to be so sure about becoming the next Senate president, as the final decision would not be made until Inauguration Day.

Expressing his interest in the top Senate post, Crisostimo maintained yesterday that the incoming Senate owed it to the Saipan people to elect a president from the Commonwealth’s main island.

Former governor Larry Guerrero, the CNMI’s first Senate president, was the only Saipan resident to have ever held the position. All the other Senate presidents were from Tinian or Rota.

Crisostimo claimed that incoming Senate president Joseph Mendiola of Tinian had previously promised him the next Senate presidency.

But on Tuesday, Mendiola announced that a six-member alliance had chosen him to be president and Sen. Pete P. Reyes to be the vice president, when the 15th Senate convenes in January 2006.

Democratic Sen.-elect Maria Pangelinan will be the secretary and Covenant’s Felix Mendiola will be the treasurer. The two other members of the “new Senate leadership” will be Covenant’s Henry San Nicolas and Republican Paterno Hocog.

This leaves Crisostimo, along with Republicans Paul A. Manglona and Jude Hofschneider, in the minority bloc.

“They can dream on, but they can never count on me to join their leadership,” said Crisostimo, a Democrat. “Mendiola promised to give this presidency to Saipan, but he failed in that promise. But I will be more than happy to work closely with the people of Saipan, either as Senate president or majority leader.”

In a separate interview, Mendiola denied having promised Crisostimo anything about the Senate presidency.

“If there was a deal made, it was between him and Senate President [Joaquin] Adriano. I was never part of it. I was not even aware that he was interested in the presidency until I expressed my interest,” Mendiola said.

Crisostimo said, however, that he would be amenable with Reyes becoming the next Senate president. He said that it would be harder for him as a Democrat to win the position, as no Democrat had held it before.

“If I can’t be the president, then Sen. Reyes should be the president. I will move for that in the inauguration and I hope Maria [Pangelinan] will second the motion,” he said.