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Sole-source procurement, changing COVID-19 protocols are questioned
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Posted on Feb 24 2022
The CNMI House of Representatives Health and Welfare Committee was briefed by the COVID-19 Task Force Tuesday, Feb. 15, about the Commonwealth’s evolving pandemic response, sole-source purchasing concerns, and long-term plans for the CNMI’s healthcare system.
Led by House Health and Welfare chair Rep. Christina Sablan (D-Saipan), the meeting included updates from Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer Esther Muna, CNMI COVID-19 Task Force chair Warren Villagomez, governor’s authorized representative Patrick Guerrero, CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management special assistant Gerald Deleon Guerrero, the Public School System’s Family and Community Engagement Program manager Liela Yumul, and Department of Corrections Commissioner Wally Villagomez.
Sablan
“Since the committee’s last briefing with the task force, there’s been a surge in COVID-19 cases between the delta and omicron variants, including a spike in infections affecting our public schools as well as staff and inmates at the Department of Corrections,” said Sablan.
Among the highlights of the briefing was what Sablan described as the exorbitant costs of sanitization at the correctional facility in Susupe.
“It was a revelation that the Department of Corrections spent over $257,000 on sanitization services provided by one company in just 17 days, and nobody on the panel could recall the last date of service, or who is providing sanitization currently,” Sablan said. “To put that amount in perspective, the entire CHCC facility is apparently sanitized for $30,000 per month. The entire legislative building has been sanitized for $1,600 in a day.” (PR)
