Honesty is like an icicle

Not a moment of day before the sunshine settles for the night where events short the mind trying to figure out what is going on with our people’s elected representatives in our Legislature, Office of Attorney General, and Governor’s Office. A fifty plus pages of gun control bill that passed the House of Representative and pushing its way to the Senate is much more complicated than the implementation of Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution.

The politicians in the Governor’s Office and the elected AG hijacked the CNMI Constitution when an erroneous and unconscionable political opinion became the rule that followed without rational and lawful explanation. In the living course of the gun control bill, the general public was ignored and shooed to the sideline. What happened when our elected AG engineered to violate and circumvent the CNMI Constitution was a recurring force of habit of a dirty political statesmanship. The CNMI people viewed as pariah that burdened the political process and our participation is a disposable matter that sustains the veracity of democratic thoughts and doctrine only sculptured in the CNMI modern day democracy.

Where a word in the written language, which is simple, clear, plain, and without ambiguity, the writer’s intention should be communicated in harmony. The readability of written communication is purposeful and critical factor in language. The AG sent the draft bill of SB 19-94 knowing full well that the subject matter he had written and proposed requires a reading level and knowledge of at least a four year college education. The reading level of the written language of Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution only requires a tenth grade level of education. Using Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch Kindaid, and Coleman-Lau readability analysis formulas, the readability measure of the text of SB 19-94, and Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI constitution are: 16 years of education, and eight years of education, respectively. Readability analysis is based on the number words in paragraph, number of sentences and characters, and syllabic counts of words used in the text.

If Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution is plain and clear, and could be read and understood by a junior student in high school level of education, then one could not argue the simplicity mode of the law as stated in the constitution. If the Legislature, Governor’s Office, and OAG could not read and interpret a law that only measures a readability level of a junior grade in high school, how are we to be assured that the Legislature would address a bill the elected AG sent to it that requires no less than a college level education to fully comprehend the entire context and text of the written material? Hence, the Legislature ignored, the AG consciously manipulated the violation of the CNMI Constitution, and the politicians in the governor’s office celebrated an ill-gotten windfall at the expense of the CNMI people when they dealt with the matter dictated by Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution. Now, the game plan is to rush and hastily maneuver the passage of the gun control bill without the participation of the general public, and that is viewed by our political elites as good representative government.

The elected AG by view and read of what Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution as a simple and clear law, he could not have undermined the intent of the constitution, thus avoiding the suspicion of participating in a conspiracy and deliberate move to sabotage the will of the CNMI people. How could a person that prays as an impartial jurist of the CNMI Judicial order play politics under the guise of fair and justice. A doctor of jurisprudence, a revered retired superior court judge, a former AG, a licensed practicing attorney, and good unadulterated citizen that failed so miserably reading and interpreting what seems to be a simple and unambiguous law of Article III, Section 7 of the Constitution. Forget the canons of statutory construction and statutory interpretation, no “noscitur a sociis”, “ejusdem generis” and all the mambo-jumbo of play that lawyers cue the quiz, nothing would restore what was stolen from the CNMI people when the AG elected to abandon the plain and unambiguous rule of Article III, Section 7 of the CNMI Constitution for his political and personal gain. This to many is corruption in plain view committed by the well-connected and power elites in our government. Unfortunately, our elected leaders are teaching the cat to eat the rat. The lesson we are showcasing to our millennials is motivated that corruption lives okay and expect to embrace more to come. That legacy to and with our present elected officials is not going to go unnoticed. Integrity and honesty is only transparent if not adulterated past and present. Honesty is like an icicle; once it melts that is the end of it.

Francisco R. Agulto
Kanat Tabla