By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

RESCUING another unfunded mandate from the Legislature, Sen. Adolpho B. Palacios Sr., D-Ordot/Chalan Pago, has proposed to appropriate $150,000 to the Department of Parks and Recreation for the design and construction of a monument in honor of the late Sen. Angel Leon Santos at the Latte Stone Memorial Park in Hagatna.
“This memorial for Sen. Santos was provided by Public Law 27-44 but the law doesn’t have a provision for appropriation, so the parks and recreation department has been unable to fulfill the mandate,” Palacios told Variety.
The Hagatna Park has been renamed “The Senator Angel Leon Guerrero Santos Latte Stone Memorial Park” by virtue of P.L. 27-44, in honor of the former activist member of the Legislature, who advocated for the rights of the indigenous people and the preservation of the Chamorro culture, heritage and traditions.
Bill 48 proposes that the appropriation for the memorial project be taken out of the fiscal year 2008 Tourist Attraction Fund. The bill also authorizes the parks department to accept donations to raise funds for the project.
Palacios first introduced the appropriation bill for the Angel Santos Park in the 28th Legislature, but the legislation, though publicly heard, was killed in Sen. Eddie Calvo’s committee, on recommendation of David Tydingco, then president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association.
“Sen. Calvo decided not to report out my bill because David Tydingco stated in his testimony that the Latte Stone Parks was part of GHRA’s Hagatna revitalization project and the island-wide beautification program,” Palacios said.
“Nothing has happened since the law was passed by the 27th Legislature, and nothing has materialized since David Tydingco said GHRA would take care of the Angel Santos Park. That’s why I introduced this bill again to open the door for new testimony,” Palacios added.