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Senate confirms Rabauliman, Seman
The Senate has confirmed the appointments of Mark O. Rabauliman and Richard Seman as heads of the Department of Commerce and Department of Lands and Natural Resources, respectively.
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- Richard Seman is joined by senators after being confirmed as secretary of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources. (Joel d. Pinaroc)
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- Mark O. Rabauliman and his wife are joined after senators after his confirmation as Department of Commerce secretary. (Joel D. Pinaroc)
The confirmations, made during a session on Wednesday, were generally uneventful, as all senators gave a thumbs-up to the two appointments.
Seman was the first to be confirmed as top honcho of the DLNR, after a few minutes of deliberations.
The confirmation of Rabuliman, however, took longer, as the deliberations focused on a previous comment made by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (Ind-Saipan) during a public hearing on Rabauliman’s appointment.
Tebuteb was one of the many to give public comments during Rabauliman’s appointment hearing at the same Senate chamber a week ago.
But while all comments were delivered in English, Tebuteb delivered his show of support in Carolinian, which apparently most of the Senate committee members on appointments did not understand.
Sen. Arnold Palacios (R-Saipan) said the comments should have been made in English, as a courtesy to the committee members.
After a recess, the senators eventually agreed to put a translation of Tebuteb’s comments in English and Chamorro to be included in the Senate records.
Asked what Tebuteb said to Rabauliman, who speaks and understands Carolinian, the incoming Commerce chief said the lawmaker simply narrated that Tebuteb has known him since he was very young and is supporting his appointment.
