Our new CUC board

Well, the entire members of the CUC board have resigned as requested by Governor Torres. I’m not sure I heard any grumbling from any of them. They just resigned and left. But why did Gov. Torres ask them resign? I say that, at first instance, the governor felt that there was a breach of fiduciary duty. Thus I feel that the governor’s disappointment with the board reflects the broken trust the governor had of the board. I mean it has to do with the board’s action to purchase an $11-million engine to replace Engine 8 at the power plant in Lower Base without the governor’s authorization. Also, the method of purchase was in dispute by Rep. Ed Propst as improper and a “family affair.” That’s definitely a breach of trust. There was also an insistence by committees of both chambers of the Legislature that the board members either resign or be “fired.” And board and commissions members could be removed for cause, like not adhering to accepted or established procedures and acting against the written desire of the governor.

It looked like the board was operating like an absolute independent agency. Was it? The board should keep in mind that it is not a “fourth branch” of the CNMI government. None of them is. Neither a board nor a commission is absolutely independent; they are still within the Executive Branch. The Constitution only created three branches of government, not three and one-half nor four or more. Even if it is semi-independent or quasi-governmental agencies, or quasi-judicial agency, it still is under the aegis of the governor. It’s the governor who is responsible for all of these governmental bodies and it is the governor who gets lambasted by critics for letting things slip through. And remember the appointment and confirmation process? It tells you the board is very much part of the administration and should not wander outside the sphere of the governor’s global supervision. They are allowed to manage their in-house matters but when they step out of bound, then it time to look at the governor’s office. Just like a regular executive agency.

The governor is entitled to loyalty from those who are serving the administration. He has that right. And he could remove board members. He could do that. The governor has that inherent power to exercise a global, ongoing supervision or decision on an executive agency or board or commission. A board or commission may be an animal of the Constitution, but the governor could touch it by countering it via legislative or popular initiative, or with his inherent power to exercise supervision. Although he cannot completely shut down CUC without the help of the Legislature or the “initiative,” he could withhold members’ salaries or leave a vacancy or two unfilled, and create a quorum crisis. But he’s doing all right. The entire CUC board has resigned, and a new board is awaiting confirmation by the Senate. Then he could appoint his supporters, which is all right, too. Our CNMI is heavy in politics, for sure. And the critics—left, right, and centrist—they don’t hold back. If the governor does not have a strong internal fortitude, he’s going to get sick from the barrage. But freedom of speech holds. The critics have that freedom. The governor has put CUC in a state of emergency until he has filled the vacancies of the board. The appointed members must keep in mind that they are still part of the Executive Branch, and the governor their supervisor. In making the emergency declaration, Gov. Torres exercised his prerogative as chief executive of the Commonwealth and the sole supervisor of the executive agencies as well as the quasi-independent boards and commissions. In the final analysis, he is responsible for the normal operation of every agency in his administration.

So now, he has already nominated two persons for the board. I say that is good. He has the right to choose members who could give him their support on decisions that affect his administration and the way he sees things for CUC. I hope that members he appoints do support his administration, CUC, and its board. He must explain to his CUC board nominees that they must adhere to established government policies and procedures for CUC because they are still very much part of the administration. There has to be a two-way communications between the governor and each of the executive agency and boards and commissions, an inter-agency communications and accountability; otherwise an operational fiasco might occur. Trust, loyalty, and fiduciary duty. He should be given those. And let’s see how the incoming board members turn out to be.

Rudy M. Sablan
Garapan, Saipan