NEITHER Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios nor other members of the House leadership, except Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, were invited by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres to his State of the Commonwealth Address or SOCA set for Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, starting at 10 a.m. at the Kensington Hall of Kensington Hotel.
In a letter on Thursday, the governor told the speaker: “With increased access to federal assistance and stronger federal relationships, partnerships built between the public and private sectors, the return of our tourism industry, and a community that is ready to look towards the future, I humbly ask for your attendance as I share the story of the resilience of our islands and its people.”
In an interview, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, who is running for governor as an independent candidate, said he was not invited.
He also noted that usually, the Legislature adopts a joint resolution to invite the governor to deliver his SOCA.
According to Section 9(b), Article III of the CNMI Constitution: “The governor shall report at least annually to the legislature regarding the affairs of the Commonwealth and new measures that are necessary or desirable.”
Palacios said he does not expect the governor to invite him, but “I’m not sure what to call it since it was not the Legislature…that called for the SOCA. What the governor plans to hold cannot be officially called SOCA.” Palacios said it could only be described as a “farce.”
Rep. Tina Sablan, the Democratic candidate for governor, said she, too, was not invited to the SOCA and she was not aware of any other member of the House leadership who was invited besides the speaker.
“I’m guessing because we ‘don’t believe in his leadership,’ as Governor Torres likes to say. However, since there hasn’t been a joint session called by the presiding officers of the Legislature, this is not actually a ‘State of the Commonwealth Address’ in the way that we have traditionally always conducted it,” Sablan said.
“According to the Speaker, Governor Torres has also never reached out to seek a joint session. So this strikes me as being more of a campaign event to be held at the Kensington just before election time. I would be very interested in knowing how this is being funded and ultimately what it will cost taxpayers,” Sablan said.
Minority bloc Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero said she, too, was not invited, but added that the CNMI Constitution doesn’t prevent people from assembling at the SOCA venue to stage a protest action.
“The people have all the right to show up at Kensington, invited or not, most especially [because] it relates to the government of the people, by the people, for the people,” she said. “We fly the U.S. and CNMI flags as part of a free nation. [The SOCA will be] paid by the people’s money and rightfully the people should be the first to be invited not a selected few. Classless act.”
Former Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who is supporting Palacios, said when he was speaker of the CNMI House and governor, the SOCA was always set by the Senate president and the House speaker, never by the governor.
He said it only shows that the governor does not know what he was doing when he invited the House speaker to attend his SOCA at Kensington Hotel.
Ralph DLG Torres
