By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
GOVERNOR David M. Apatang is asking the Legislature to amend certain provisions of the fiscal year 2026 budget law that impose penalties on department and agency heads who exceed spending limits, describing the measures as impractical and unfair.
Section 713 of Public Law 24-20, the FY2026 spending measure, imposes a 30-day suspension without pay on any expenditure authority whose department or agency violates the Planning and Budgeting Act by exceeding its allocation. Section 203(e) of the budget law also imposes a 30-day suspension without pay on the Finance secretary until she complies with the law’s reporting requirements.
These provisions were among those line-item vetoed by the governor but were ultimately enacted through a legislative override in February 2026.
In a letter to Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Karl King-Nabors, the governor emphasized that the CNMI government’s fiscal position, already difficult before Super Typhoon Sinlaku struck the islands, “is now even more precarious.”
Reduced revenue collections in the wake of the typhoon have made it increasingly difficult for the government to meet payroll obligations and remain current on its financial commitments, the governor said. He added that the situation has had a profound impact on the community and that addressing it will require cooperation among all branches of government.
The governor pointed to provisions of the FY2026 budget law that, he said, “have greatly hampered the ability of the government to respond to a downturn in collections.” He said it was for those reasons that he had line-item vetoed the provisions, which now prevent him from making proportionate reductions across the various branches of government without submitting an entirely new budget proposal.
“Any limited ability we possessed before Sinlaku to absorb a temporary shock has now been wiped out. Under the circumstances of our post-typhoon economic and fiscal condition, these provisions are simply unworkable,” he said.
The provision suspending the salaries of department heads whose agencies exceed spending limits, the governor said, “is also impractical and unfair given that the budget law was changed midway through fiscal year 2026.”
He said the line-item vetoes and subsequent legislative overrides created prolonged uncertainty regarding the law throughout much of the fiscal year.
“Punishing program heads for this uncertainty would be inequitable and unrealistic,” the governor said, noting that the dispute over the effective transmission date of his line-item vetoes remains unresolved.
The governor told Villagomez and King-Nabors that the fairest and most expeditious solution would be to pass a limited and targeted amendment to the punitive provisions of the budget law, allowing the CNMI government to manage cash flow realistically “in this constrained post-Sinlaku environment without violating the law.”
“I am humbly requesting the assistance and collaboration of the presiding officers and all members of the Legislature to come together as we work toward recovery. The community is relying on all of us to do our part,” the governor said.
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
