THERE is a new Senate leadership, Sens. Ramon S. Guerrero and Pete P. Reyes announced yesterday, adding that Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz will be the new Senate president.
“They’re dreaming,” Senate Floor Leader Joaquin G. Adriano and Sen. Diego M. Songao said in separate interviews.
Dela Cruz, D-Tinian, and Sen. Thomas P. Villagomez, R-Saipan, who is also reportedly with the “new majority,” were “unavailable” for comment.
Reyes will be the new Senate vice president while Guerrero will be the new floor leader, Variety learned.
In a notice issued to several government agencies and the media, Guerrero said he was asked “by the new majority for the new Senate leadership” to announce that the Senate Public Utilities and Transportation Committee public hearing scheduled on Thursday and Friday had been canceled.
Guerrero, American Reform-Saipan, is a member of the committee which is chaired by Songao, Covenant-Rota.
“I am still chairman of the committee and I don’t honor (Guerrero’s) notice,” Songao said. “The scheduled hearing will continue. There are no changes in the Senate leadership. Paul A. Manglona is still the Senate president.”
According to Songao, “Guerrero is trying to break up the group, but the current leadership remains intact and I believe that whatever differences there are could be resolved.”
Guerrero said his notice “is exactly what it is.” When pressed to identify the new Senate leaders, Guerrero said, “No comment.” He then told Variety to call Senate Vice President David M. Cing, D-Tinian.
“Maybe (Guerrero) sees something I don’t,” Cing said in a separate interview.
It was Cing’s outburst during the afternoon session on Monday that “sparked” the current “maneuverings,” Variety learned.
“I’m quitting as Senate vice president effective Friday,” Cing said yesterday. “I don’t want to be a part of this leadership anymore,” he said. “I don’t trust this leadership.”
Asked if he would join a new majority coalition, Cing said, “No comment.”
Cing said he was “betrayed” by Adriano and the three Rota senators who, he added, continued to insist on the confirmation of former Sen. Edward U. Maratita as board member of the Commonwealth Development Authority.
During the morning session on Monday, Maratita’s nomination was rejected by a 4 to 5 vote. Adriano and the three Rota senators cast the four votes in favor of Maratita’s confirmation. Cing, who chairs the Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigation, said Maratita defaulted on his CDA loans and could not sit on its board. Dela Cruz and the three Saipan senators also voted against the nomination.
“We had lunch after that session,” Cing said. “After lunch, I sensed that something was cooking.”
When they returned to the Legislature, another session was “suddenly” scheduled in the afternoon, Cing said. “All along, the Senate president knew what was going on but I didn’t and I am the chairman of the committee (on appointments),” he added. “I don’t want my president to be like that!”
During the afternoon session, a motion was made to recall the rejection of Maratita’s nomination. It was defeated by a 3 to 6 vote—Manglona, R-Rota, voted with the five who originally opposed the former senator’s confirmation.
“So why did the president abandon his group? I don’t like that. When I accepted the chairmanship of the committee, I told all the members that we should respect the rules and the chairman. They violated the rules and disrespected the chairman last Monday,” Cing said. “Now I’m asking the Rota delegation—is (Maratita) the only one from Rota who is qualified to serve on CDA’s board?”
“There will be a new Senate president. There are going to be changes in the leadership,” Reyes, R-Saipan, said.
“Senators Cing and Dela Cruz are with the Saipan delegation,” he added. “We will meet on Tinian (today) to formalize the new setup and then there will be a session.”
Well-placed sources said, however, that “Dela Cruz remains the wild card.”
In a separate interview, Manglona said “Nothing is cooking as far as I’m concerned.” He said it was “unfortunate” that the motion to recall Maratita’s rejection was made, but added that Rota lawmakers were assured by two Saipan senators that they would change their votes.
“I voted against that new motion not because I abandoned my group, but because I believed that we should respect the result of the vote taken that morning. It was already a dead issue. I know Senator Cing is mad because he thought that the group went behind his back. But I hope that all of us would allow our emotions to settle down. We have a lot of bigger things that we need to do for the people of the CNMI,” Manglona said.
He expects, however, that “some people would try to exploit this disagreement among friends.”
“They will try to make a mountain out of a molehill, so we all need to cool off. Sometimes we don’t agree, but that doesn’t mean we have to step backward—we should always move forward. We have to set aside differences, look at the bigger picture and continue to work together so we could better serve the commonwealth,” Manglona said.
In a separate interview, Adriano, D-Tinian, admitted that “there will be an attempt to form a new majority, but it cannot happen—very very impossible.”
He added, “They’re dreaming. They are hoping for something that is not there. The issue that caused all this is already dead. We should now all move forward and tackle more important things that could help revive our economy.”
Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig, R-Rota, said the current leadership “is still intact. Manglona is still president, Cing is still vice president, Adriano is still floor leader and Dela Cruz is still legislative secretary.”
Rota and Tinian senators, who usually vote together on key legislation, form the core of the current leadership. Reyes used to be the floor leader, but he was excluded from the leadership in the aftermath of at least three failed attempts to form a new majority after the November elections.
The last time a “coup” resulted in the re-alignment of the Senate leadership was in May 1994, with Cing and Manglona spearheading the block that removed then Senate President Jesus R. Sablan and then Senate Floor Leader Villagomez from their positions.
Cing and Manglona were also in the group that ousted then Senate President Joseph S. Inos in Sept. 1992.
Info Box
Current majority block
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, R-Rota
Senate Floor Leader Joaquin G. Adriano, D-Tinian
Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig, R-Rota
Sen. Diego M. Songao, Covenant-Rota
“New majority” block
Sen. Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan
Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero, American Reform-Saipan
Senate Vice President David M. Cing, D-Tinian
“Undecided”
Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz*, D-Tinian
Sen. Thomas P. Villagomez*, R-Saipan
* Dela Cruz and Villagomez are reportedly with the “new majority,” but sources close to the two said “they’re still straddling the fence.”
