By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

SPEAKER Mark Forbes, R-Sinajana, has called the Legislature into session for a state memorial service on May 23 in honor of the late former Sen. Paul J. Bordallo, who passed away Saturday.
Bordallo, who is credited for the Chamorro Land Trust Act and for championing the rights of the indigenous people of Guam, succumbed to a lung ailment that he had suffered from for several years. He was 76.
“Our island has truly lost a great man. Paul Bordallo was a statesman, a visionary, and a leader whose service to Guam as a senator, businessman, and community activist will be remembered for many years to come,” Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo said of her brother-in-law.
The congresswoman is the widow of the ill-fated Democratic Gov. Ricardo Bordallo, elder brother of Paul Bordallo.
“Indeed, he has had a profound impact on our island through his accomplishments and his ideals. He was my brother-in-law and I often turned to him for his insight and his wisdom. I join with the Bordallo family and our community during this time of loss in mourning his passing and honoring his memory,” the congresswoman said in a press statement.
One of the legacies of the former senator is the preservation of Sella Bay, which the administration of then Gov. Carlos Camacho tried to pledge with the Navy for Guam’s eligibility for a federal grant for airport facilities.
On March 9, 1973, the Ninth Circuit Court, acting on Paul Bordallo’s petition, stopped the proposed land transfer deal that would have converted Sella Bay into an ammunition wharf.
Paul Bordallo, who served in the 11th and 12th Legislatures, co-sponsored former Sen. Frank Lujan’s bill that created the first Political Status Commission.