Santos scores Mangloña on delegation’s session scheduling

Sen. Teresita A. Santos (Ind-Rota) faulted Sen. Paul A. Mangloña (Ind-Rota) last December for scheduling a delegation session that she said flouted several considerations, including logistical reasons and proper protocol.

This is in response to the emergency delegation session called by Mangloña, chairman of the 21st Rota Legislative Delegation, to confirm new board members for the Rota Municipal Scholarship Foundation last Dec. 18 at the Rota Mayor’s Office conference room.

“I must remind the chairman that there is a specific protocol in place for the confirmation of municipal board members,” Santos said in her letter to Mangloña. “It is the delegation’s duty to provide the mayor of Rota our advice and consent for any municipal appointment, and that we do so with transparency to the people of Rota.”

Santos enumerated the conditions that the delegations have to meet, including asking each nominee for required documents, holding of public hearings for each nominee, filing of a committee report recommending their confirmation (or not), and if their confirmation is recommended, calling a delegation session for their confirmation.

“It would be irresponsible for the delegation to address this issue at [an] emergency session without having completed the aforementioned steps,” she said.

Santos also listed logistical issues that Mangloña should have considered before releasing the emergency session call, primarily that the nominees and current foundation members had not been informed that the confirmation hearing would be taking place.

The call for the emergency session was also questioned as the issue was presented over two months ago, when Rota Mayor Efraim Atalig submitted his nomination letters for the foundation to the delegation on Oct. 10, 2019.

The Rota senator also raised the difficulty associated with convening on Rota, given the secretary of Finance’s request for at least a one-week advance notice to process the delegation staff’s travel authorizations to Rota.

“The chairman must be aware that both I and delegation floor leader [Sen. Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota)] have published off-island notices for this week,” Santos stated. “If the chairman’s motivation for this emergency session is to confirm new RMSF board members, why would the chairman knowingly schedule the session when a quorum cannot be reached?”

Santos laments that the timing of the emergency session is questionable. As a consequence of the emergency session, two of the nominees would be unable to attend their own confirmation.