‘The time has come for Gov. Torres to step down’

Now that the Office of the Attorney General has filed its criminal complaint against Gov. Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres, it is time for our beleaguered chief executive to resign.

For months, Governor Torres and his supporters have repeatedly argued against his impeachment citing the inaction from the Office of the Public Auditor and the Attorney General. That is no longer the case as the Attorney General charged Gov. Torres with 12 counts of misconduct in public office, one count of theft and one count of contempt.

For the first time in the history of our Commonwealth, a sitting governor faces 13 misdemeanors and one felony. Gov. Torres’ continued presence only stands to further divide our people and cast a cloud over our government.

Had Gov. Torres resigned long ago when the allegations first surfaced or when he was officially impeached, he would have spared our people from the disconnect between the legislative houses and the discord between our citizens. The time has come for Gov. Torres to step down.

While it is true that we should presume innocence until one is proven guilty, our rules for civil servants are clear about what should happen next. Under our Civil Service Commission guidelines, the procedure for employees charged with crimes is found in § 10-20.2-257 Furloughs, Suspensions, Separations for Personal Cause, and Demotions for Disciplinary Reasons (Adverse Actions):

“In the event that criminal charges are filed against an employee, the employee shall be immediately suspended without pay, reassigned, or subject to such other action as management may deem necessary. In the event the charges are dismissed or the employee is found not guilty, the employee shall be reinstated with benefits and pay retroactive to the date of suspension.”

If Governor Torres were a rank-and-file civil service employee, he would now be suspended without pay pending the outcome of his criminal proceedings. Every day he remains in office he not only flaunts his disrespect for the people and the reputation of our Commonwealth, but hinders our fiscal recovery from the pandemic and our return to normalcy.

Paul Manglona (Special to the Saipan Tribune)
Sen. Paul Manglona (D-Rota) is a member of the Senate of the 22nd Legislature.