CNMI leaders give tribute to Camacho

CNMI leaders gave a final tribute to Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority special assistant for public transportation Thomas Camacho, who succumbed to cancer last week. He was just 55 years old.

Led by Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Lt. Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres, officials lined up to view Camacho’s remains and offer their condolences to Camacho’s family at a memorial service held at the Mt. Carmel Cathedral on Saturday morning.

Gov. Eloy S. Inos and Lt. Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres led other government dignitaries in giving their final respects to COTA special assistant Thomas Camacho in a memorial at the Mt. Carmel Cathedral on Saturday. (Joel D. Pinaroc)

The Inos administration also presented a plaque of appreciation honoring Camacho’s years in public service and his “commitment to advancing disability policies and for the distinction of serving as the CNMI’s first Special Assistant for Public Transportation.”

“No words can express our sense of loss for a dear friend and colleague. Tom was a quiet and unassuming friend who dedicated a major part of his public service to creating programs to assist our community members with disabilities and their families,” Inos said in a statement.

Aside from government dignitaries, employees and officials of COTA were also present.

Burial rites immediately followed at the Mount Carmel Cemetery.

Camacho’s legacy will continue to be the COTA programs that he envisioned for the CNMI, according to Vince C. Merfalen, mobility management and transit coordinator.

Merfalen said COTA was established in May 2011 and from the start, it was Camacho leading the way for the agency’s programs. “Even his position [as special assistant for public transportation] was created by Public Law 17-43, the law that created COTA,” Merfalen said, adding that many consider Camacho as the vision behind the COTA and its “founder.”

Merfalen said Camacho was not just the leader of COTA, but the agency is his “project, effort, and dream.”

COTA is currently heading a public transportation service called “Call-A-Ride” in which the public can make arrangements to be transported anywhere on Saipan for a flat fee. Special vehicles for the disabled are also available.

However, an even bigger public transport program is currently being developed, Merfalen said.

The project involves using 10 buses, each with a capacity of 20 to 30, to ply seven routes all across Saipan. The 30-foot buses will be servicing close to 200 bus stops, Merfalen said. He said the project is expected to start in two year’s time, if funding will be made available.

Merfalen said the two projects are just some of the visions that Camacho had for the CNMI.