WITH Democrats in the House of Representatives expressing concern with Executive Order 2021-8, which renews the secretary of Finance’s authority to reprogram funds, Republican Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Friday said as long as the CNMI is facing the Covid-19 pandemic, it will remain in a state of emergency.
“We’re in a pandemic,” he said, “and this state of emergency allows the secretary of Finance to do what he needs to do to work with [the governor’s authorized representative] Patrick Guerrero, and the [Covid-19 task force] to make sure that we continue to be safe here in the CNMI.”
He added, “We still don’t have tourists coming in. The whole world is still basically on lockdown.”
The governor said one of the reasons the CNMI is safe is because of his executive orders that allow the government to respond quickly in addressing the state of emergency.
“I think everyone here understands that we’re still in a pandemic, and we will continue to be in a state of emergency as long as we’re under the pandemic,” he said.
“I will continue what I need to do to protect our community 100%,” he added.
He said he hopes that lawmakers will also spend time and effort on helping to bring the CNMI back to normalcy.
The governor noted that his administration continues to work with the attorney general in crafting measures to respond to the state of emergency.
“We have given our undivided attention to protect 100% of our people,” he added.
Besides consulting and working with the AG’s office, Torres said he has continuous discussions with medical experts including Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. Chief Executive Officer Esther L. Muna, CNMI Covid-19 Task Force Chairman Warren Villagomez and with lawmakers themselves in the ongoing efforts to keep the CNMI and its people safe.
“We did everything that we could, and we will continue to do what we need to do to protect our Commonwealth, and I’ll continue to do what I need to do to safeguard our community,” he reiterated.
He said his administration has also provided lawmakers information regarding the government’s expenditures, including those pertaining to Covid-19.
“Maybe [now] they should start looking at revenue-generating bills,” he added.
Ralph DLG Torres
