Covenant Party endorses Kilili; Fitial boosts GOP bets on Rota

  Political campaigns are starting to heat up eight months ahead of the Nov. 6 polls, with Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos and the Covenant Party endorsing Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan’s (Ind-MP) re-election on Saturday afternoon, followed hours later by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s formal launching on Rota of former representative Victor Hocog’s senatorial bid and Rep. Teresita Santos’ re-election.

Both events were held on Covenant Day, which marked the 36th year of the signing of the document that made the Northern Marianas a part of the United States.

Sablan said he welcomes the “good news” about Inos and the Covenant Party’s endorsement of him. Sablan is the CNMI’s first and so far only nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“I am just as grateful to Lieutenant Governor Inos and the Covenant Party’s members for their support of my candidacy. I remain completely committed to continue to work hard in Congress for all our people and our islands,” Sablan told Saipan Tribune via email.

Inos, the titular head of the Covenant Party, said they endorsed Sablan’s candidacy for “many reasons,” including the delegate’s focus on and consistency in ensuring that the needs of CNMI people are addressed.

“He follows through on issues. We believe that he will continue to do that regardless of the political landscape in Washington, D.C.,” Inos said in an interview at the Minatchom Atdao where they celebrated Covenant Day on Saturday.

Secondly, he said, the political season has commenced but they haven’t heard of any other individual who might be interested in vying for the delegate post. Fitial’s Republican Party has not made any announcement of their delegate bet; the same goes with the Democratic Party.

“For that reason, the executive committee has recommended that [we] endorse U.S. Delegate Kilili. He’s doing a good job,” Inos said. “It’s not that we don’t want to fix something that’s not broken. He’s doing a good job. We want to put him back there so he could do a much better job.”

The Covenant Party invited Sablan’s wife, Andrea, to Saturday’s gathering and to accept the party’s official endorsement of the delegate candidate.

Oscar M. Babauta, Covenant Party campaign chairman and advisor, and other party officials said they were thankful for the big crowd on Saturday despite the fact that there were other major events happening that day.

Fitial founded the Covenant Party 11 years ago to support his gubernatorial bid. He left the party in 2011 to rejoin the Republican Party, which he now chairs again. While others followed the governor to the Republican Party, others like his running mate Inos remained with the Covenant Party.

Other candidates

Covenant Party officials led by Inos, Babauta, precinct chairs Felipe Atalig and Jack S. Aguon also launched the candidacy of former representative Ana S. Teregeyo for a Senate seat representing Saipan.

Teregeyo is so far the fourth known individual vying for Saipan’s senatorial seat. The three others are incumbent Sen. Luis Crisostimo, an independent now running under Fitial’s Republican Party; Rep. Ray Yumul, a Republican who will run as independent; and newcomer Illuminanda Reyes Bermudes, also running independent.

The Covenant Party also announced its Precinct 2 and 3 candidates in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

The Covenant Party’s Precinct 2 candidates are incumbent Rep. Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan) and John Paul “JP” Sablan.

For Precinct 3, the Covenant Party’s candidates are incumbent Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan), and Bryan S. Torres, the Public School System’s mathematics program coordinator.

Inos said the party has yet to finalize their list of candidates.

The Covenant Party and so-called “Independent Republicans” have been trying to complement each other’s list of candidates to build a formidable alliance against the governor’s GOP, sources from both camps said. The “Independent Republicans” consist of long-time Republicans who did not want Fitial to lead the party that they said the governor “abandoned” for his personal agenda.

The Covenant Party also re-elected all its officers led by chairman Gregorio “Kazuma” Camacho, who was off island during the weekend for medical reasons. The other retained officers are: first vice chair John Wabol; second vice chair Martin Sablan; secretary Mariam Seman; and treasurer Emma Villagomez.

Fitial on Rota

Fitial went to Rota over the weekend to officially kick off the Hocog-Santos campaign.

The event held in Sinapalo drew a large crowd, said sources that were at the GOP event. The crowd estimate, however, ranged from 200 to 600, depending on who one asks.

The governor and his close associates, including businessman Joe Lifoifoi, Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Arnold Palacios, and Juan Reyes, chartered a flight to Rota on Friday, according to sources.

Fitial has taken a more aggressive role in campaigning for Hocog’s candidacy, in particular, as Hocog is challenging Senate President Paul Manglona (Ind-Rota), with whom the governor has been having a nasty word war.

Manglona is seeking a third term as senator representing Rota.

In a phone interview yesterday, Manglona said he was earlier invited by Fitial’s supporters to run under the Republican Party, but that he declined the invitation for two main reasons.

“First, I cannot answer to the people of Rota and the CNMI about the failures of Fitial in addressing the economy, Retirement Fund, the hospital, food stamp, capital improvement projects and utilities, and other issues. He has no plan for economic recovery other than casinos,” Manglona told Saipan Tribune.

He said the second reason is that he is committed to supporting and endorsing Sablan as a delegate candidate.

Fitial has yet to name a Republican candidate for delegate.

Santos, meanwhile, said yesterday that the “overwhelming support” from people encouraged her to seek re-election.

Santos also described Hocog as “an outstanding citizen” and who can also lead Rota during these tough times.