Rota senator still holds out hope for tractor, healthcare personnel

One of three senators representing the island of Rota hopes that the needs of the island’s healthcare personnel as well as the purchase of a tractor would be addressed soon.

Sen. Teresita Santos (R-Rota) told Saipan Tribune yesterday that she hopes the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. board will “seriously consider” the three positions that were vetoed by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres last Tuesday in the enactment of the fiscal year 2018 budget.

Originally a Senate amendment that passed the bicameral conference committee, CHCC was directed to hire at least one physician, one physician assistant, and one nurse practitioner for the Rota Health Center—if the center fails to hire at least two physicians. The provision also called for CHCC to hire a dental assistant.

Torres on Tuesday disapproved these provisions.

Santos, who chairs the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, remains hopeful that the newly formed CHCC board would look into these positions.

Santos cited the “increasing number of both inpatients and outpatients” as well as the need for a dentist to justify the additional hires.

Torres’ comments and reasoning behind many of the disapproved provisions specified that the administration wishes to give “the CHCC the flexibility to address the staffing needs critical to all hospitals.”

Sen. Paul Mangloña (Ind-Rota) did not respond to a request for comments as of press time.

According to CHCC CEO Esther Muña, there are currently two physicians at the Rota Health Center.

Rota depends on farming
Santos also emphasized Rota’s reliance on farming for food. A tractor could “assist [Rota] farmers with land clearing, cultivating, and harvesting agricultural produce.”

Torres disapproved the purchase of two tractors, one each for Rota and Tinian. His veto blocked a total of $500,000 that would have been taken from the Marianas Visitors Authority’s budget.

Santos said an alternative source of funds could be identified to buy the equipment for Rota.

“Majority of our people are farmers who rely heavily on subsistence farming to augment their living due to the high cost of food and commodities,” she said.

Torres thinks the $500,000 could best be used for tourism advertising and “promotion designed to increase the number of visitors” to Rota and Tinian.

Rota budget hike
Compared to fiscal year 2017, the current Rota budget sees an increase of 8.45-percent, jumping from roughly $7.6 million in fiscal year 2017 to over $8.1 million in fiscal year 2018.

The Rota Mayor’s Office itself will receive over $2.9 million in fiscal year 2018—a slight decrease. The office received a little over $3.1 million in fiscal year 2017.

The Rota Municipal Council received a minute budget cut of over $150. It will get $304,031 in fiscal year 2018; it previously received $304,188.

Rota’s Department of Public Safety and the Rota Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services both received substantial budget increases for fiscal year 2018.

Rota DPS will receive roughly $1.3 million this fiscal year while in the previous fiscal year it received $912,686. The Rota DPS budget increased by 39.3 percent from the prior fiscal year.

Rota DFEMS received a 43.4-percent increase compared to fiscal year 2017. This fiscal year, Rota DFEMS will receive $820,095 compared the previous $571,831.