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Villagomez says disagreement with Senate not about political posturing
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Posted on Mar 28 2022
House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) said their disagreement with the Senate about legislation for the government retirees’ $1,000 bonuses is not about political posturing nor about getting credit.
“I disagree. Plain and simple,” said Villagomez when asked during the House’s press conference Tuesday about Sen. Victor B. Hocog’s (R-Rota) statement that what he is seeing regarding the disagreement on bonuses is political posturing.
“This is not about credit because even if we were to put the H instead of the S, it’s still not the proper way to do it. It needs to go through legislation,” he said.
Villagomez
The speaker said appropriations can only start from the House, so they already have bills for the bonuses. He said they introduced a bill and passed it and then the Senate amended it.
“And again, we opened up the table. Come and meet in the middle and let’s iron out our differences,” said Villagomez, referring to his appointment of conferees.
Nor is this about political posturing, he said, because if it is, why not just pass it before Christmas of 2021?
He reiterated that they want to do things the right way. “It is important that the retirees out there understand [Commonwealth Code] Section 7402 that we are trying to do things the right way and also try to protect them, so that when they receive this $1,000, they don’t need have to worry about any legal issues,” Villagomez said.
Rep. Sheila J. Babauta (D-Saipan) reiterated this, saying they want to do it the right way. “There is a proper way to do it so that we are following the law and the House is focused on that,” Babauta said.
Last March 10, the Senate unanimously adopted Senate Joint Resolution 22-09 approving Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ request to create a new program and business unit for the government retirees’ bonuses. The resolution, authored by Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider (R-Tinian) and five other Republican senators, also approves Torres’ request to reprogram $2.8 million from within the Executive Branch for the payment of the retirees’ bonuses.
