SENATE Vice President David M. Cing, who chairs the Executive Appointments and Government Investigation Committee, has removed his vice chairman, Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig, from the panel as the power struggle in the Senate intensifies.
Cing, D-Tinian, yesterday said he was appointing Senate Minority Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, as Atalig’s replacement.
Atalig, R-Rota, earlier opposed Cing’s recommendation to reject the nomination of former Rota Sen. Edward U. Maratita to the Commonwealth Development Authority board of directors.
“Regrettably, you have not fulfilled your responsibility as a member of this distinguished committee. Neither I, as chairman of this distinguished committee, nor the people of the CNMI…can trust an individual that does not carry out his duties and responsibilities with truthfulness,” Cing said in his one-page letter to Atalig.
Atalig, in an interview, said it was the prerogative of Cing to make the decision.
“As far as I know, I performed very well. I delivered the responsibility tasked to me. There was nothing personal in the way I performed my job,” Atalig said.
“(Cing’s decision) hurts me. It will no longer be the same relationship,” Atalig said.
Cing, in his letter, said as chairman of the committee, he was given the “great responsibility” of ensuring that individuals nominated by the administration are “morally and legally qualified.”
Atalig said prior to the Senate session on Maratita’s nomination, he urged his colleagues to confirm the former senator’s nomination.
“I stated to him that I have always supported Tinian nominees. What I only asked during the meeting is their support for a Rota nominee,” Atalig said.
He said the new Senate leadership that was being formed “will not survive.”
“This new leadership they are trying to form will not last long. Sometime in the future, someone’s jealousy will cause it to collapse,” he said.
