Kilili: IG report ‘very damning’

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan expressed himself puzzled yesterday why Attorney General Edward Buckingham is lashing out at him for criticizing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its decision not to go after those behind the Fitial administration’s decision to award a $392,406 sole-source contract to former Commerce secretary Michael Ada’s firm.

He, however, has an idea why Buckingham is disappointed with the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior report, which said that Ada’s contract may have violated CNMI procurement regulations and local ethics rules.

“I can understand why the attorney general is upset with the Inspector General’s report. It’s very damning. But I am not going to engage the attorney general in a debate in the press over the content of the report. The report is very clear in detailing who was involved with writing and approving the sole-source contract and what CNMI laws and regulations were violated. Anybody can read the Inspector General’s report, which is available online, and reach their own conclusions,” he said.

The two-time CNMI delegate to U.S. Congress also made it clear that nobody leaked the IG report to him and that he has no communication whatsoever with Public Auditor Michael Pai regarding the report.  

“Let me make two things very clear: First, I got the report on Friday from the Inspector General, just as everyone could when it was posted on the Internet. Second, I have had no communication with the public auditor about the Inspector General’s report. So, there is no conspiracy here.”

Pai declined to provide a comment, saying the Office of the Public Auditor will be issuing an official statement.

Buckingham had issued a statement on Sunday, criticizing Sablan and Pai and saying that both men “will never miss an opportunity, even without merit, to attack me and the governor.”

Sablan said he finds it disturbing that Buckingham would make such “unsubstantiated accusations” in the press.

“The job of the attorney general is not to try people in the newspaper. The attorney general is supposed to assemble evidence and bring cases before a court when the law is broken, as apparently is with this sole-source contract,” he said.

Sablan also explained why he made a statement about the Inspector General’s report: “This is a federal government report that points to a breach of law in the award of a contract to manage federal funds. As a member of Congress, it is part of my job to have oversight of funds appropriated by Congress and to be sure that those funds are used as they should be.”

Beyond that, he said the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was one of the very first pieces of legislation he voted for as a member of Congress.

“I am proud of that vote. The Recovery Act brought over $100 million to the Commonwealth at a time when we desperately needed it. The Recovery Act created jobs or kept people from being laid off—over 500 people, including 100 teachers at PSS [Public School System]. So to read the Inspector General’s report that Recovery Act money was being used for the enrichment of a few, instead of to benefit all the people of the Commonwealth, I know I am not alone in feeling angry about this whole incident,” he said.

The Saipan Tribune contacted Senate President Paul A. Manglona (R-Saipan) and House Speaker Eli D. Cabrera (R-Saipan) yesterday and asked for their comments on the issue. Both lawmakers declined interviews about the controversial IG report.

The IG report, which was made available online Saturday in the Interior Department’s website, said, among other things, that the CNMI government’s sole-source contract with Ada’s Integrated Professional Solution “is null and void if the procurement processes or execution fails to comply with CNMI Procurement and Supply Regulations.”

It said the evidence suggests that the Fitial administration’s contract to IPS violated multiple CNMI ethics rules, including provisions against post-employment restrictions, use of office, staff, or employees of public office, restraint on use of public position to obtain private benefit, and negotiating for nongovernment employment.