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Juan ‘Pan’ to resign as Fund’s board chair after certification
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Posted on Feb 16 2009
Juan “Pan” T. Guerrero says he will step down gladly as Retirement Fund board of trustees chairman as soon as he is certified as a candidate for governor in this year’s election.
Guerrero said he is going to comply with the Election Commission’s regulations and that once he gets certified as an official candidate for governor, he will step down as Fund board chair.
He said the board just wants to maintain the consistency of Fund policies and decisions because that’s the only way to ensure that the Retirement Fund “would be reformed hopefully.”
“I just hate to see all the hard work that we put in trying to make sure that the board is consistent on the policies and decisions that we’ve taken go to nothing,” Guerrero told Saipan Tribune as he emerged from the Superior Court Friday afternoon where he attended a hearing in the Fund’s lawsuit against Gov. Benigno Fitial and the Department of Finance.
Guerrero pointed out that resolving the Fund’s problem is a commitment and a constitutional matter.
“ It is not being a governor. It is what the Constitution says, that we cannot diminish the benefit of the pension” he said.
Guerrero said he doesn’t believe that, if elected governor, he has the right to take away money that Fund members are entitled to.
“That’s the contractual rights. Those guys up there [Capital Hill] don’t understand and I’m sorry for that. But that’s a contractual right for the employees. …With the limited resources, we just have to balance and make sure that we get, if possible, the most of it,” Guerrero added.
Guerrero has also expressed confidence that he will be the next governor.
