“What more does he need from me other than if we collect the money, we need to pay the refunds,” said the lawmaker.
Calvo and Pangelinan have publicly disagreed on the government of Guam’s financial condition.
Calvo has previously stated the government is in dire financial straits and cannot pay out tax refunds on a timely basis. Pangelinan, on the other hand, said the governor is not following the law in paying out tax refunds and is using the money to pay other obligations.
Pangelinan said if he had accepted the appointment, “it would have diverted the focus, and with the budget cut and with everything else coming up, it’s all in conjunction with the budget process, and I need to focus on that.”
Pangelinan said by statute, he chairs the Special Economic Commission, which is charged with analyzing the structural obligations of the government.
“This group makes recommendations on how to deal with the government’s financial condition and how to improve them. I’m going to focus on that work, because by law, that’s my work as chairman of that special economic service group, and to do the work in terms of trying to make improvements there,” said Pangelinan.
As a result of Pangelinan’s rejection of the appointment, Calvo has appointed Sen. Tom Ada to take Pangelinan’s place.
