POLICE Officer 1 Jomalyn Gelacio, accompanied by her counsel, Anthony H. Aguon, appeared before the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations, which is conducting an investigation into Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ public expenditures.
Gelacio, who is now with the Department of Public Safety’s criminal investigation division, was assigned to provide security for first lady Diann T. Torres from January 2019 to February 2020. But Gelacio said she started performing the job in an unofficial capacity in 2018.
Gelacio fielded several questions pertaining to the off-island travels of the first lady and the governor.
Rep. Edwin Propst, for his part, asked about the alleged non-disclosure agreement or NDA involving DPS.
Gelacio said, “I was aware of it sir. They showed me the document, sir. I don’t think it was right to sign the non-disclosure agreement.”
She told the committee that when she received the House JGO’s subpoena last week, she immediately went to her supervisor, CID chief Simon Manacop, to seek guidance.
“He showed me the NDA form and I read the document,” Gelacio said, adding that her supervisor told her that as an officer, “we’re supposed to keep most of our work stuff private.”
“But I did not sign the NDA,” Gelacio said.
Asked if she was pressured by Manacop to sign it, Gelacio said, “No.”
When asked by Rep. Tina Sablan why she didn’t sign it, Gelacio said, “Because I guessed it didn’t make sense.” She said she understood that as a police officer, not everything about her work should be made public, but as a member of the first lady’s protective security detail, “I don’t think it was right at that moment to sign the non-disclosure agreement.”
However, she added, it is stated in her duties and responsibilities that she should keep her principal’s private life secret. Principal means the person she is assigned to protect.
When asked by Rep. Vicente Camacho if she dropped and picked up the governor’s children at school, Gelacio said yes.
Asked if she traveled with the first lady and the governor, she also said yes.
Gelacio said she once traveled with the governor and the first lady to Guam on a DPS Boating Safety vessel, but added, “I don’t recall the dates.”
The dates of the trip report that was shown to her by the House committee indicated that the trip was from June 21, 2018 to June 23, 2018.
The trip report stated: “Left Smiling Cove Marina on DPS Impact boat and headed to Guam. Arrived [on] Guam at 12 noon where we waited for the rent-a-car. We left Guam Marina, went to King’s Restaurant where he had lunch, went to Payless Supermarket to buy some supplies and headed to Guam Airport Hotel and settled in.”
Gelacio said she signed the trip report, but she could no longer remember who assisted her in drafting it.
Politically motivated
Asked for comment Press Secretary Kevin Bautista issued the following statement:
“We don’t know how many times we have to mention this for the committee, but it was made clear that neither the Governor nor the Lt. Governor had anything to do with a non-disclosure act, and it was made clear today that Officer Gelacio or any officer was not required to sign one.
“What was clearly evident today was the obvious attempt by the Democratic committee to direct testimony to desired answers.
“Officer Gelacio provided truthful testimony, and she should be commended by the community for talking about the technical details of her job. However that didn’t seem to satisfy the committee, which consisted of six Democrats and one Republican in a 20-member House of Representatives that is split 10-10.
“The line of questioning by the Democrats demonstrated clear political motivations that touched upon sensitive details, such as the medical referral of the First Lady’s mother off-island and the lives of their children.
“While certain reporters and media outlets choose to be selective [in] their coverage for their own evident bias and elected officials engage in this type of behavior, it shows how low this committee is willing to go to fulfill their political purposes.
“While the Democrats play petty politics, the Governor just signed a historic travel agreement with South Korea, making the CNMI the first place in the world to resume tourism with our Korean counterparts. This will resume tourism, reopen tour agencies, bring back tourism jobs in our hotels and restaurants for our people, and provide local revenue.
“While the Democrats play petty politics, the Acting Governor authorized the expansion of transportation services for our Manamko’ and disability network partners on Rota so that they can have more accessible transport for their daily tasks.
“While the Democrats choose to play petty politics over the people, this administration continues the hard work of governing, keeping the CNMI safe, and finding ways to fund public services and help businesses beyond federal assistance.”
Police Officer 1 Jomalyn Gelacio listens to her counsel, Anthony Aguon, during a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations which is investigating Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ public expenditures on Thursday morning.
