FORMER Customs Director Jose C. Mafnas, a civil service employee, on Monday asked the Superior Court to issue a temporary restraining order preventing Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig and the CNMI government from removing him from his position as director of Customs and Biosecurity or to otherwise reinstate him until the court has decided on Mafnas’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
On Thursday, Atalig informed Mafnas that he was being transferred to the Department of Commerce, as the new director of export, importation and public outreach.
Mafnas said no such position exists.
Represented by attorney Charity R. Hodson, Mafnas filed a complaint against Atalig, in his official capacity as secretary of Finance, and the CNMI government, and is seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the defendants.
Hodson said her client is also prepared, “if necessary, to give a security deposit for the issuance of the temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction applied for in the sum deemed proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained by this court per Rule 65(c), but asserts that any such costs are minimal and any required security should therefore be minimal.”
In his TRO motion and request for injunction order, Mafnas said his constitutional right to vote freely and as he sees fit has been under fire for months.
Mafnas is a supporter of the independent gubernatorial ticket of Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and his running mate, Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang.
Mafnas alleged that there was a recent written “communication/threat” from Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’s chief of staff, Wil Castro, to Mafnas’s niece on May 22, 2022, stating that if Mafnas “is with the governor, in terms of the vision, then it is all good.”
Mafnas said the chief of staff, “apparently speaking for the governor, sees no ethical conflict in removing a person who is ‘unwilling or incapable of executing the executive direction.’ ”
Mafnas also alleged that Castro, in a written communication to Mafnas’s niece, stated that if “[Mr. Mafnas] f**** with my Governor I’ll fire him myself.”
When Mafnas “directly engaged [Castro] to address these comments, the Chief of Staff replied: ‘Director, I’ve been a winner and a loser. But I’ve never lost a civil service battle.’ ”
Additionally, the complaint stated, the same day Mafnas was given the secretary of Finance’s adverse order, a Customs officer 1 was appointed as acting director of Customs, bypassing several experienced management officers at Customs.
“The new appointee is a close relative of the incumbent Governor’s running mate for the November 2022 gubernatorial election,” the complaint added.
Mafnas likewise alleged that the governor “has verbally instructed [Mafnas], on at least three different occasions, to purchase a multi-million-dollar X-ray machine for Customs, but to run it through [the governor’s] brother.”
“This was another executive directive that Mr. Mafnas refused to participate in and instead Mr. Mafnas relayed his concerns to his then-supervisor, the secretary of Finance, and the machine was not pursued under those terms,” the complaint stated.
Adverse action
According to the complaint:
“The Secretary of Finance’s Order of Reassignment is a de facto adverse action….
“The purported position of Director of Export, Importation & Public Outreach is not an existing position for an employee under the Civil Service System and therefore any statement by the Secretary of Finance that this fictional position does not change Mr. Mafnas’s civil service status is not supported by any law, regulation, or fact.
“The Order effectively removed Mr. Mafnas from his position as Director and placed him in a fictional position under a separate government agency, reportable to a separate appointing authority, yet allows any decisions regarding Mr. Mafnas’s future employment to be made at the whim of either the Secretary of Finance or the Secretary of Commerce.
“The Secretary of Finance’s statement that the position is for a six-month term contradicts his statement that the new position will not result in any losses or benefits, particularly with regard to Mr. Mafnas’s protected civil service status.
“Mr. Mafnas is entitled to the protections given to him by CNMI law as a civil service employee.
“Additionally, Mr. Mafnas has a constitutionally protected property interest in his continued employment as a public employee.
“The Secretary of Finance’s Order is a demotion and an adverse action taken against Mr. Mafnas with no recognition of his right to due process and is a violation of Mr. Mafnas’s constitutional rights.
“Furthermore, the Secretary of Finance’s Order to effectively reclassify Mr. Mafnas’s employment and subdelegate an employment position that does not exist to another government agency is ultra vires and void.”
According to an online legal dictionary, “ultra vires” is Latin for “beyond the powers,” and describes actions taken by government bodies that exceed the scope of power given to them by laws.
Asked for comment, Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig told reporters on Monday: “I’m not aware of it [lawsuit], I will make my comment when I get information about it.” He added that he had not yet been served with the complaint.
