Energy investor paid for 4 lawmakers’ China trip

Three of the four lawmakers who accepted a renewable energy investor’s invitation separately confirmed with Saipan Tribune on Tuesday and yesterday that Blue Ocean Energy paid for their recent trip to Guangzhou, with a layover in Hong Kong to secure Chinese visas.

House Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee chair Lorenzo Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan), vice speaker Frank Dela Cruz (Ind-Saipan), and Rep. John Paul Sablan (Cov-Saipan) said that Blue Ocean Energy paid for their trip and accommodations.

The fourth lawmaker in the trip is Senate PUTC Committee chair Sen. Pete Reyes (Ind-Saipan).

The House and Senate PUTC panels plan a joint press conference to discuss their trip’s details and what they have learned about liquefied natural gas, among other things.

In May, Blue Ocean Energy officials visited Saipan and presented before lawmakers their plans to invest in a $100-million, 50-megawatt liquefied natural gas plant project on Saipan.

“Yes, Blue Ocean paid for our trip. We got to visit their plant and learned more about LNG. It’s an educational trip,” Deleon Guerrero said in an interview at his office. “But there’s no strings attached.”

He said this is not unethical and the practice of having investors pay for government officials’ trips is not new, so long as the government officials do not promise or guarantee the investor anything in return.

Deleon Guerrero said the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. will be the one to issue a request for proposal for renewable energy, and lawmakers won’t have any part in the selection or any decision-making process.

Sablan, in a phone interview yesterday, said prior to accepting the invitation to go to China, the lawmakers consulted with their counsels.

“We did our job, and we consulted with our counsel. We made sure that it’s legal and ethical to make the trip. We will have no conflict because the RFP will be CUC’s responsibility. They are the ones to make the decision, not lawmakers. At the end of the day, it’s the RFP that will talk,” Sablan said.

The freshman lawmaker said he’s glad to be part of the trip, considering that the CNMI has high utility rates and it needs to know more and move fast in tapping renewable energy sources.

“It’s a very informative trip,” he said.

Vice speaker Frank Dela Cruz (Ind-Saipan) said that Blue Ocean Energy will be participating in a request for proposals that CUC or the administration would later issue. He said lawmakers will not be involved in the selection process after the RFP closes.

Deleon Guerrero said they had a layover in Hong Kong on their way to Guangzhou. Sablan said the Hong Kong segment of their trip was to wait for their China visas. It was earlier reported that the end-destination was Hong Kong.

Back in May, Blue Ocean Energy said their plan is to build an LNG power plant that they said will provide electricity at least 20 percent cheaper than what CUC currently charges per kilowatt hour.

Meanwhile, Public Auditor Michael Pai said yesterday that the Office of the Public Auditor “cannot comment on either the existence or status of investigations” in accordance with their policy, when asked whether OPA would look into this particular trip.

At the Legislature, off-island travel notifications only indicate the departure and arrival dates, but not the destination and the specific purpose of travel.

As a result, most lawmakers in the CNMI are not aware where their colleagues go to and why, including who paid for the trip.

At least two other lawmakers are also on “official business trip”—Senate President Ralph Torres (R-Saipan) and House floor leader Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan). Sources said they went to Alaska and are expected to return this week.