Quitugua respond to Paduna

Last week on Tuesday, Nov. 30, former speaker Pedro “Paduna” R. Deleon Guerrero accused NMI Democratic Party chairwoman Nola Hix and me of being “bad leaders,” saying we chased him out of a meeting with Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang last month.

Here are the facts behind that story: First, it was true that the meeting on Oct. 24, 2021, was between the Democrats and Arnold and Dave. Second, it was a closed-door member-only meeting between the two independent candidates and members of the Democratic Party Central Executive Committee, including members of the House and Senate Democrats. A total of 23 people were at this meeting, including Arnold and Dave. Third, as a sign of respect for each other, no recording and picture taking was allowed. Otherwise, if the meeting was recorded it would reveal the whole truth regarding the situation Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero was so grumpy about. Fourth, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero was not chased out as he characterized it; he was asked “to please leave.” Fifth, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero is not a member of the Central Executive Committee. Sixth, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero cannot proxy for his brother, Herman Guerrero, because there is no proxy provision in the bylaw since the acting chairmanship of former representative Pedro C. Arriola more than 25 years ago.

Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero has a vile history of causing instability within the Democratic Party, including his direct participation in the demise of the party in the election of 1981. Again, in the election of 1987, the Democratic Party got enough members elected that could secure the speakership. However, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero who was one of the Democrats that won conspired with Republican to secure himself the speakership, denying the Party control of the House. Had it not for his hunger for a position of importance, Juan S. Reyes (Liling) would have been the speaker.

Considering the above and his disrespectful outburst at the Oct. 24 meeting just once again added to my lingering concern that the man has deep-seated conspiratorial behavior issue. How could it be possible that Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero described the event dramatically different from the 23 people in the room who listened and witnessed the drama?

Readers, decide for yourself as I recount what happened. The meeting started off very well. Arnold and Dave were presenting their thoughts on the advantages of an alliance between the two groups. As the conversation progressed and in the middle of a question-and-answer session, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero walked in, to the complete surprise and disbelief of all members, because he was not supposed to be there. Amongst those who witnessed the event were four lawyers and a former associate judge.

When Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero sat down, I walked over and quietly whispered to him, respectfully asking that he leave the place because it was a closed-door member-only meeting. He asked me if I was chasing him out, and I told him that since he is not a member of the CEC he cannot remain in the room and asked him to be respectful of the occasion. At this point he was arguing that he was there as a proxy for his brother, Herman Guerrero “HR.” I told him the Party’s bylaw has no proxy provision.

Contrary to his false claim, no one disrespected him; it was the other way around. He is the one who was being insensitive and disrespectful at the gathering. Only those individuals who were elected to the Party at the general membership meeting back in January 2019 were supposed to be there. Disappointingly, though, as the meeting was taking place, Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero opened the door and, without a word, walked in the middle of the discussion and sat down. He did not even have the decency to ask if he could be allowed in to listen.

My quiet request for him to leave the room was followed by chairwoman Hix openly asking him to leave the place because not only was he not a member but no one had also invited him to be there. Finding no other justifiable reason for his presence and intrusive behavior, he stood up and, as he was walking out the door, he pointed at the chair and in a loud voice said, “You are a bad leader” twice.

His disdainful attitude of entitlement because he is a former speaker overpowered his good judgment to display a behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety. His argument that he was there as a proxy for his brother was so out of touch with today’s Party bylaw. Proxy may have been a practice he used during his time in 1981 when he was part of a group that broke up the Democratic Party. No such provision exists in our bylaw today. This shows how long he has been a member of the Democratic Party and his claimed of being a Central Executive Committee as well.

My initial reaction was to let Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero have his moment. Still, the fact remains that Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero came to our meeting, premeditatedly determined to behave the way he did. Such behavior was reminiscent of his direct involvement in breaking up the Democratic Party and destroy its political dominance. If his intention were to demonstrate his support and loyalty to Arnold and Dave, he could have done it honorably deserving his stature as a former speaker. Besides, Arnold and Dave, who witnessed the tantrum, would have been more impressed and prouder. Was I surprised that Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero behaved the way he did? Absolutely not. Similar behavioral outbursts happened in the past under different circumstances. So I was under no illusion that his behavior will ever change.

The constant drive for personal validation and acknowledgement reminds me of a narcissistic personality, which is a mental condition in which a person has an inflated sense of his own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationship and a lack of empathy for others. We have seen this type of people in the likes of Donald Trump and Gov. Torres.

Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero will continue to spin the event for his own selfish political benefit, and he is entitled to seek his own glorification. He is also at liberty to support whichever candidate he believes in, and we respect that. However, the Democratic Party of today, through its elected Central Executive Committee, the governing body of the Party, would stand firm in protecting its organizational integrity and would not allow itself to be used and abused as the case in 1981, for someone’s own political aggrandizement.

Since Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero’s direct participation in breaking up the Democratic Party in 1981, it took those of us who continue to believe in its principles and values a cumulative 35 years to rebuild and regain the confidence of the voting public to where the Party is today. It appears, by his unprovoked outburst on Oct. 24, that Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero is on a crusade to once again destroy the Democratic Party.

My experience with Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero through the years was that on any occasion where he was part of a group or individual conversation, he would always interrupt the discussions with negativity rather than appreciate one’s contribution xto the conversation. And in the end, it was always about himself and what he has done.

The Democratic Party of today, however, is not the Democratic Party Mr. Pedro “Paduna” Deleon Guerrero helped destroy in 1981. The Democratic Party of today is not and will not engage in any types of subversive political acts or innuendos to harm anyone. Instead, the Democratic Party of today will engage in conversations with our citizens based on facts in presenting its vision to motivate our citizens to believe in themselves and encourage the full use of their fundamental powers to make transformational change in the way we exercise self-government under our continued political relationship with the United States.

The Democratic Party of today will maximize the strength and benefit of working closely with our delegate to the U.S. Congress. We will continue to nurture our strong relationships and be grateful for the invaluable financial support provided by the U.S. Congress through our own representative to help improve the quality of lives of our citizens.

The Democratic Party of today will approach politics by focusing on the goodness and strength of its vision to help create a promising future for our children. The children are the rock on which our future will be rebuilt; they are our greatest asset as a self-governing community. They will be the leaders of our island communities, the creators of our Commonwealth who will care and protect our citizens. There can be no keener revelation of a community’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. We believe in the wisdom of Frederick Douglass that “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

The Democratic Party of today will endeavor and commit to the ideal of advancing children’s frontiers for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures— a roadmap of a Party that believe in the empowerment of its children who will be the heirs of their own destiny. It will not be about a campaign of despaired men trying to resurrect a politics of a bygone era, but an investment for the future of our children so that they can live life to its fullest.

Yes, it will be an exciting venture and the greatest enterprise the Commonwealth will ever invest in and undertake.

As to the statement that I am a “bad leader,” well, let me respond to it this way by borrowing a phrase from a judge who often was asked by appearing counsels to make a ruling from the bench and the response is usually, “I will take it under advisement.”

Daniel O. Quitugua
Kannat Tabla, Saipan