Hard lessons in CUC issue

Senate President Arnold I. Palacios (R-Saipan) said the CNMI has had some hard lessons in how the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board handled a planned procurement of an engine.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres had asked all CUC board members to resign last Thursday. That was one of the recommendations made by the House Public Utilities and Communications Committee.

CUC board chair Adelina Roberto, vice chair Eric San Nicolas, secretary Albert Taitano, treasurer Joe Torres, and member Dave Sablan are all board appointees.

Ike Perez is a CUC board member, but he occupies the slot reserved for the Commonwealth Development Authority, which is a shareholder in the autonomous government agency.

Palacios said that what CUC needs to do right now is to continue regular operations until Torres appoints new board members.

As for the “hard lessons” learned. That includes being transparent to the public and following the procurement process, said Palacios Friday.

“We should…learn from this process, that you cannot shortcut or have it appear that you are short cutting a very important decision, like procuring [an engine] that is going to cost us close to $13 million,” he said.

Palacios said the Executive Branch does consult the Senate or the House. “We’re very candid to him [Torres]. At least I’m very candid with him.”

He added that Torres’ decision may be unpopular to some but that is part of his job. “I know this is probably a difficult decision [but] he is the one who is going to make the decision. He can take my recommendation or not. …Sometimes the decisions that he has to make are very difficult. He has to look at multiple aspects of the decisions he has to do. Every time you appoint board members and then halfway through your administration you ask for them all to resign is not something to be take lightly.”

Torres made the decision following the revelations about CUC’s plan to buy an engine from General Pacific Services Marianas Inc. It was alleged that the transaction did not go through proper procurement and bidding.

“I commend [Torres] for making the hard decision. Now he has to name a new board.”

Palacios hopes the requirements of the statute would be followed to the letter. “We are looking to [confirm] board members who are highly qualified, and serious in transparency and accountability. Not that this board did not do that. I think we need to restore public trust with our board. It is all over the place, the media, and people’s reactions on this, it is all out there.”
 
All views accounted for

Sen. Sixto K. Igisomar (R-Saipan) said the Senate Public Utilities, Transportation, and Communications Committee does not object to Torres’ decision.

His committee and his House counterpart held separate oversight hearings on the issue. The House committee, headed by Rep. Francisco Dela Cruz (R-Saipan) made a recommendation that the board should either be fired or its members made to resign.

Igisomar, however, said there is a lot more at stake than just saying remove or ask the board to resign, “that’s why the Senate delayed the release of their report.” Their findings are now moot as the governor already made a decision asking the members to resign.

“The Senate was not ready to make a decision and [this] is not an automatic answer. It is an easy and simple thing to say terminate or remove them. There are a lot more than just removing or asking them to resign or fire them.”

“We [Senate PUTC committee] want to make sure that our decision is based on what we see of CUC’s overall aspect and our position, aside from recommending to terminate, fire, or ask them to resign, is based on the future of CUC.”

Igisomar said their committee does not just want to simply release a document that would say fire the CUC board and wanted to present a report that has a lot more substance.

Minority’s reaction

House minority leader Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) said the Legislature, especially Dela Cruz’s PUC committee, hopes to work more closely with the new CUC board.

Villagomez along with fellow minority member Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan), made public the alleged controversial issue involving the contract awarded to GPSM in buying the diesel engine. Propst was one of the most vocal critics of the CUC’s project.

“I’m happy that the governor has actually taken action on this. It is good to see the governor is taking the necessary steps to address the issue. Hopefully they [CUC board] comply after the governor asked for their resignation,” Villagomez told Saipan Tribune.

He added that CUC’s customers would have shouldered the cost of the project. “The actions that were taken by the [CUC] board were pretty serious and the cost [of the engine] would be passed on to us ratepayers. It would be difficult for some families and we do not need it to be hard for them.”

Villagomez said Torres can start with a clean slate

Sablan complies

CUC board member Dave Sablan had already complied with the governor’s request and had already informed Torres’ office, through chief of staff Matt Deleon Guerrero of his resignation. Sablan was in Tokyo when he received the email.

It is not yet known if the other board members have already complied with the request or them to submit their resignations.

Sablan said it would be up to Torres if he re-appoints him or not. “If he does retain me, it would be good to know that he still has confidence in my ability to serve the people of the CNMI and the ratepayers of CUC,” Sablan said in an email to Saipan Tribune.

He expects Torres to have the names of his nominees ready for submission to the Senate. “I hope and trust the Senate, in a relatively short time, can do their due diligence in checking the background and résumés of the nominees to make sure they are qualified and what they list on their résumé is accurate.”

“I am sure that the governor will receive legal advice on what the law requires when it comes to the makeup of the board members.”

Sablan said that quickly naming and confirming the new members would help the CUC tackle its issues. “If the governor acts quickly to appoint new members and the Senate works quickly to do their background checks and then hold the confirmation hearings, the CUC board can be reconstituted within a reasonable time.”

He added that his seat on the board is reserved for someone who has experience in utility management and policy-making like the one seat reserved for the CDA chairman.

“I am sure the governor knows that the seat I occupy on the board, by law, is reserved for someone with at least seven years of utility management or policy-making experience, who is not a CNMI resident.”