Asked for comment Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said: “We are in an economic crisis and we need brave leadership to do what has to be done as a matter of economic necessity, regardless of political considerations during an election year.”
Except for Tinian Covenant Sens. Henry H. San Nicolas and Joseph M. Mendiola, all members of the Senate voted in favor of an override.
Sen. Maria T. Pangelinan, D-Saipan, said most of the senators disagree with the governor’s position that there is no alternative but to impose austerity measures.
The governor is asking the Legislature to include in the budget bill provisions reinstating austerity holidays or the forced shutdown of public offices every other Friday as well as legalize unpaid holidays.
But Pangelinan said the austerity measures were not effective at all and only caused demoralization among public servants.
“Austerity measures proved to be fundamentally unfair in their application, not only to lower paid employees, but also because of the many arbitrary and politically driven exemptions that were made,” she said.
“The net savings during the period in which these were applied was less than had been predicted. The measures simply did not work as projected. We must impose strict controls on hiring and adjust employment levels to stay within the budgetary resources,” she added.
Public offices were shut down every other Friday in 2006 but more than a thousand employees were exempted from observing the biweekly austerity holidays.
The Department of Finance identified over $160 million available resources for the CNMI this fiscal year, which started on Oct. 1, 2008.
Of the amount, the local government will be left with $148 million after prorated financial obligations like bond payments are deducted.
The Department of Public Lands is separately budgeted for $3 million.
Autonomous government agencies also have their own allocations.
Unconstitutional
The governor’s press secretary said the lawmakers are reluctant to address the austerity measures because this is an election year.
He said the governor should be recognized for his will to prudently address the worsening economic situation on the islands.
“In pushing for unpopular austerity measures, the governor is demonstrating clear and brave moral leadership in a time of crisis,” he said.
“The governor has also argued that specific cost reductions have not been identified in the proposed budget. This needs to be made clear. We need a specific breakdown of cost reductions from the Legislature. The governor should not be forced to unilaterally make such decisions,” he added.
He reiterated that the Legislature’s decision to be involved in the executive and judicial branches’ personnel matter is unconstitutional.
“The governor has argued that the proposed budget may violate the constitutional separation of powers doctrine because the bill proposes to allow the Legislature to micromanage the hiring of both the executive and the judicial branches of government. This argument has yet to be refuted,” he said.
But Pangelinan said the Legislature has the authority to set maximum full-time employees’ level during the budget process.
She said the bottom-line is that the government must spend within its means.
“As unpleasant and frightening as the economic realities appear, the government must operate within its resources. The governor goes on by objecting to the Legislature monitoring hiring, calling it unconstitutional,” the senator said.
She added: “The Legislature has the authority to set maximum FTE levels during the budget process. It is time for us to follow-up by making sure that these levels are not being exceeded.”
