SENATE President Paul A. Manglona and Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio had never talked to each other since the 17th Legislature was sworn in last January.
Their offices are divided only by wall but with a door that provides quick access if one of them wants to talk to the other.
On Tuesday, a cordial meeting took place shortly after lunch time when the door was finally unlocked and left wide open.
In an interview yesterday, Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said the meeting happened when former Sen. Maria “Frica” T. Pangelinan, his volunteer adviser, unlocked the door.
He said Manglona must have heard about Pangelinan’s presence in the speaker’s office.
Pangelinan, D-Saipan, was Manglona’s colleague from Jan. 2006 to Jan. 2010.
“I assumed he and Senate Vice President Jude U. Hofschneider just wanted to say hello to Frica and I noticed they wanted to come in,” Tenorio said, adding that he was discussing the austerity bill with other members of the House when the two senators came in.
“We shook hands and we started to talk. And that opened the door a little bit,” he said.
Tenorio said he was pleased that the door between the conference rooms of both chambers finally opened.
In a separate interview, Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said he never had anything against the speaker.
There were some issues they disagree on but he never took them personally, Manglona said.
He did not even know that the door between his and Tenorio’s offices was locked.
Manglona said it was good to finally shake hands and talk with the speaker.
The Senate and the House earlier bickered over the issue of the Legislative Bureau leadership.
Staffers interviewed by this reporter said they feel happy to see that the two leaders of the Legislature have finally bridged the gap.
Comments
The people who puts them in are expecting that they keep them self busy and bring the economy back to prosperity. So communicate, coordinate, and find solutions to the problems.