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House supports Tydingco-Gatewood’s renomination
The House of Representatives last Monday unanimously supported the appointment of a Guam District Court chief judge.
Having already served her first 10 terms, District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood awaits U.S. Senate action on her reappointment. First appointed during the tenure of past U.S. president George W. Bush in 2006, Tydincgo-Gatewood was nominated her for a second term by former U.S. president Barack Obama in May 2016.
During a session last Monday, the House unanimously adopted Rep. Alice Igitol’s (R-Saipan) House Resolution 20-17, which was in support of Tydingco-Gatewood’s nomination.
Passing the House with a vote of 18-0, only Rep. Joseph Deleon Guerrero (R-Saipan) was absent from the session.
In a statement, Igitol specified that before she intended to author the resolution in support of Tydingco-Gatewood’s re-nomination, she “considered some of the possible concerns.”
Despite there being individuals in the CNMI that qualifies to be appointed as trustee, she said she supported Tydingco-Gatewood because “we are…responsible in creating the current dilemma of the Settlement Fund.”
“We are too politically influenced on many, if not all issues reference the public purposes,” she firmly said during the session.
According to Igitol, Tydingco-Gatewood did good by appointing a “non-CNMI individual” as Settlement Fund Trustee.
“First and foremost, she has to make sure that political influence on matters regarding the Settlement Fund does not happen,” she said. “…The retirees pension are well protected as we are now experiencing,” Igitol said, adding that Public Law 20-10 was an example of a protection of the Settlement Fund.
P.L. 20-10 set aside funding obtained specifically from the Casino-Generated Gross Revenue Tax into special fund that would only be used to fund 25 percent of retiree pensions.
