By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

SENATOR Adolpho B. Palacios, the only Democrat who voted in favor of Bill 74, yesterday defended his decision to reject his party’s stance against the revised budget measure, saying “I make judgments for myself.”
“Bill 74 is not a perfect cure for all the problems that we had but it’s better than what we have before the adoption of this measure,” said Palacios, D-Ordot/Chalan Pago. “Without Bill 74, the government’s financial situation would continue to be in a mess.”
The governor’s office is still reviewing the revised budget bill, which cuts government spending by over $18 million and pegs the budget for 2007 at $471 million.
The bill, passed on a split vote of 8-7, would have been defeated in the Legislature had the Democrats voted unanimously against the bill.
Sen. Jesse A. Lujan, R-Tamuning, the only Republican who was on the Democratic side of the budget issue, had made up his mind about voting against the bill even at the early stages of the discussions. He is opposed to the fee increases and new levies proposed by the administration.
Lujan, who hardly participated in the discussions, described the budget process as “voodoo magic,” saying his colleagues were using “math magic” in trying to balance the budget.
“I’m not a voodoo senator. I am a real senator,” he told Variety in an earlier interview before the bill’s passage. Lujan is currently off-island and could not be reached for further comments.
With Lujan dissenting from his party’s position, Palacios cast the crucial vote and saved the day for the Republican-supported budget.
“I felt that I had to make an independent judgment and independent vote. I will not allow anybody to tell me how to vote,” said Palacios, who went on bashing his Democratic colleagues for “thinking about the next election when they cast their votes.”
“What I can not understand is that my Democratic colleagues introduced a number of good amendments and many of them have been adopted. But in the end they voted against the bill,” Palacios said. “So what’s the point of pushing for amendments if you’re not supporting the bill all along?”
Palacios said he did not attend the Democratic caucus in which minority senators discussed their collective vote and strategies. “The caucus confused me. It is where you meet in advance and make decisions to do this or that even while issues are still being discussed,” he said.
Palacios said Bill 74 provides a temporary resolution that allows the government of Guam to buy time while working on a long-term fiscal recovery plan. “If this bill had been defeated even by one vote, the eight weeks that we spent in the session hall would have gone to waste,” he said.
Shawn Guamataotao said the governor’s office received Bill 74 only yesterday. The governor has 10 days to act on Bill 74, which raises the revenue level based on increased fees, tax amnesty, and tax break reduction.