VICE Speaker Edward J.B. Calvo, a nice pleasant chap, came on the airwaves (Newstalk K-57) on Feb. 16 and said, among other things, that under the present political structures and systems we have, the governor is more like a chairman of the board. Unlike during his dad’s time when the power was more centralized, which he, Paul Calvo, did not cherish.
This is political speak, sounds like an apology of sorts on behalf of the governor that he, Felix Camacho, cannot be expected to carry all the crosses of burden, so to speak, for the current state of affairs. Maybe former Republican Senator Dr. Eduardo Cruz said it best on KUAM “instead of one person getting the blame, spread the blame,” in reference to then senator and now Lt. Gov. Dr. Mike Cruz wishes to amend the “governor” in healthcare to “government” as per the Organic Act language. So what we have in this convoluted mess is politicians watching out for one another trying to spread the blame instead of taking responsibility.
But wait a minute. The governor did exert his Organic Act muscles in the true dictatorial fashion by ousting members of the Guam Board of Medical Examiners. This means at least as far as health-care is concerned, the governor is willing to take responsibility or in this case, show contempt for the rules and procedures already set in place. But why would a CEO, or I’m sorry, ‘Chairman of the Board’, act so boldly in the health-care field except if it is for personal political reasons since he has not shown his decisiveness anywhere else?
Some, I call them apologists, say the governor was willing to exercise his Organic Act powers to make sure “gross” checks were released for GPSS. But again, that was under pressure from a duly-elected AG who put it ‘firmly and fairly’ to the GPSS superintendent not to release “net” checks. What if the AG was working out of the governor’s office? Maybe there would have been no such compunction and folks would still have received “net.” (Only on Guam with savvy businessmen running the show.)
I guess Gov. Paul Calvo is truly a visionary. He already saw that Guam’s Republican and Democrat governors alike cannot really be trusted or at least counted on to be good stewards of the public trust and that therefore the powers of the CEO/chairman of the board must be curtailed and restricted. Still it is of little consolation to teachers and others who toiled at GPSS even with such devolution of power because the machines on Guam are savvy enough to get their man/woman inside boards and commissions to get their way. Or ‘gag’ the rank-and-file at agencies such as GPSS and even at under Organic Act controlled entities such as GMH. Senator Calvo, a possible gubernatorial candidate in ’10, also said we all need to come together and work together and not be adversarial. After doing just that in ’07 budget but which destroyed Underwood.

MATT PHILIPS
Mangilao, Guam