Babauta questions $145K DFEMS car rental that lacks justification

File photo show Sen. Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan). (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)

Sen. Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan) has disclosed that one of the highlights of the transition report for the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services was the expenditure of $145,000 for car rentals without any justification.

Babauta, who chairs the Senate Executive Appointments and Government Investigations Committee, said the $145,000 car rental expenses taken from the DFEMS revolving fund that was cited in the transition report could have been used to buy more inventory for DFEMS, said the senator.

Babauta raised this issue last Friday during the committee’s confirmation hearing for the nomination of Fire assistant chief Juan A. Pua to be the DFEMS commissioner.

Babauta said she is not sure if Pua is aware of these transactions while he was serving as assistant Fire chief, but it warrants looking into “to conserve precious and scarce resources of the department.”

According to the transition report, the department spent $60,000 in 2021 and $84,015 in 2022 for car rentals, with the money coming from the DFEMS Saipan ambulance fee revolving funds. Copies of the purchase orders the department provided were allegedly blurry, blank, or hard to read.

Pua promised to review the recommendations from the transition report, prioritize the recommendations, and make changes and improvements in order to move the department in the right direction.

In response to other questions during the confirmation hearing, Pua said their rescue trucks are all operable but not in great condition. He said, however, that they are trying their best to maintain the vehicles and that they are looking for federal funding to replace the aging and unreliable trucks.

Pua agreed with Babauta that DFEMS has several revolving funds—the fire safety code revolving account, Saipan ambulance fee revolving account, another ambulance fee dedicated to Tinian and Rota, and a fire lane revolving account. He estimates the revolving funds to have a yearly total average of $300,000 to $400,000. He said these revolving funds help them with their operations such as to purchase medical equipment, medical supplies, tools, appliances, hoses, and other things.

“It’s supporting our needs in regards to any shortfall,” he said, adding that they also use such funds to maintain or renovate fire stations.

As for training, Pua said they make sure to comply with their certification requirements. Their certification as emergency medical technicians requires DFEMS personnel to undergo CPR training every two years. Pua said they prepare their personnel before the two years are up to take the recertification.

“So we do an in-service training like twice a week. We’re doing quarterly physical fitness, agility test for personnel on the suppression side,” he said.

In his capacity as acting commissioner, Pua said he tries to make himself available to everybody for help, but if anybody has a concern, he makes sure that they follow the chain of command.

“I’m not saying that they cannot bring up concerns to me directly, as long as there’s communication between them and their immediate supervisors,” Pua said.

Saipan has 119 firefighters, Rota has 28, and Tinian has 24.

Oscar M. Babauta, who is the special assistant for the Palacios-Apatang administration, said that Pua has over 33 years of professional experiences in the department.

Babauta said Pua entered the second fire cycle in 1989 and that his long history of professional services, credentials, and commitment to the Commonwealth makes him a viable candidate for DFEMS commissioner.

Many other DFEMS officials testified in support of Pua’s confirmation as commissioner.