SINCE the last “coup” in May 1994, the Senate has been probably the most sedate (we’re being polite; we meant boring) assembly of officials on our Capitol Hill. But this changed on Monday afternoon when Senate Vice President David M. Cing went into a verbal rampage and started spewing words you usually hear, so we are told, in a Major League team dugout and not in a legislature The CNMI, to be sure, needs a little excitement now and then, but the senators should also realize that there is a high price to pay whenever political dramas like the events of this week are staged. For the next several days, the Senate will be unable to discuss legislation that needs to be enacted. Likewise, the House of Representatives and the administration will certainly need to know what will be the outcome of the failed mutiny before they could proceed with the pending—and pressing—legislative tasks.
But we should also point out that there is nothing new with this infighting. This is how politics based on personal—and not party affiliation or ideological—ties works, and it is only to be expected that there will be, from time to time, attempts to shake up the current leadership setup of a lawmaking body. This is how the system works, and we all have to deal with it.
The cause of the attempted coup was a personal grudge. Cing felt that he was slighted, again, by his closest and longtime political ally, Senate President Paul A. Manglona. We have never seen the Tinian senator THIS mad, which should give us an idea of how “hurt” he is. However, we also believe that Cing’s concerns could be, and should be, addressed by the current leadership, provided, of course, that the Tinian senator allows his “enemies” (as he now calls them) to sit down with him and talk things over. Unless Cing wants to retire as senator in Jan. 2004, he should realize that he can NEVER fulfill his pledges to his constituents if he is a minority senator. He cannot bring home the proverbial bacon by constantly scheming at how he could “get back” at his former allies who are all willing to settle their differences with him. Cing, who is the Senate’s second most senior member, may recall that since 1992, he had spent only four months as a minority senator (from January to May 1994), and all he did during that period was to scream at the majority members whenever there was a session. Cing should know that he cannot improve the lives of the people of Tinian by shrieking at his colleagues.
Besides learning to control one’s emotions and observing decorum in the Legislature, there are two lessons that can be drawn from this episode:
• Nominations to government departments and agencies should be carefully considered. The Rota delegation should not have recommended former Sen. Ed Maratita, and the governor should not have nominated him to the CDA board. Maratita clearly has a conflict of interest. Cing’s friend, CDA Chairman Juan S. Tenorio, is probably the last person in the CNMI to talk about conflicts of interest, but he is right. Maratita cannot serve on the CDA board. In the past, the Senate had confirmed nominees as courtesy to the delegation lobbying for them, but this should change. The Senate has to confirm nominations based ONLY on qualifications and merits.
• The Senate leadership must be more inclusive. Sens. Pete P. Reyes and Kumoi Guerrero should be allowed to chair standing committees. True, this may be easier said than done in light of the emotions and the “unpleasantries” of the past few days, but the senators consider themselves mature lawmakers who want to do the right thing. Right now, the right thing to do is to listen to the Senate president. They should all cool off and get on with the business of the people. Personal grudges should not get in the way of their primary duty, which is to pass legislation the CNMI needs. They should, moreover, listen to Cing who said that lawmakers should “stop playing around.”
But Cing should also heed his own advice. He says it’s time to be serious. Well, senator, seriousness doesn’t mean you have to be petty and stubborn. You also talk about trust, which is also fine. But please also remember that the Tinian voters trust you to do what is right, and bickering and squabbling over personal political agendas at a time like this is a betrayal of that trust.
