HOUSE Minority Leader Ivan Blanco, who was elected vice chair of the 22nd Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation on Wednesday said he agreed with the rest of the members about “working together,” but he also urged them to work in reviving the economy “because that is the way to serve our people better.”
Blanco at the same time thanked his colleagues “for all the sentiments that you have expressed.”
The new officers of the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation: Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan, back row center, chairman; House Minority Leader Ivan Blanco, right, vice chairman; and Rep. Sheila Babauta, left, floor leader. Also in photo are delegation clerk Frances Joan Kaipat, front left, and legal counsel Joe Taijeron.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Rep. Sheila Babauta, who was elected floor leader of the delegation, also thanked her colleagues for their support.
She said there is “much hope in the chamber” with a new leadership, but “there is the reality of the situation we face today when it comes to collections, enforcement and the needs of our community.”
The delegation chairman, Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan, noted the composition of the delegation leadership.
He is an independent, the vice chair is a Republican, and the floor leader is a Democrat.
“This is a clear indication that we will work together in this term for the benefit of our people and our children,” said Sablan who caucuses with Senate Republicans.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us especially in this uncharted territory brought to us by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
But he is also confident that in the spirit of cooperation “we can find solutions needed to bring comfort back to our people.”
Rep. John Paul Sablan, who chaired the delegation in the 19th, 20th, and 21st Legislatures, congratulated its new officers and said, “I stand ready to work with you for the betterment of the people of the Commonwealth, most especially the third senatorial district.”
Rep. Richard Lizama thanked Rep. John Paul Sablan for his leadership in the 21st delegation, adding that he hopes that in the 22nd delegation, they will set aside their party affiliations to serve the people.
“We are not a party now. We are one team as we move forward for the betterment of our people,” he said.
For her part, Rep. Tina Sablan believes that the local delegation “is really the body where bipartisan magic can happen and members do work together across party lines to support precinct level projects as well as island-wide projects and programs.”
She said the delegation has to work with the mayors of Saipan and the Northern Islands, the municipal council and the zoning office to clean up the islands and advance improvements to infrastructure and the quality of life in the villages.
The financial resources, she said, “are finite as they always are, and we do expect local funding level to be limited this year perhaps more so than in previous years.”
She said “the finite character of our resources just underscores the importance of collaborating and focusing on the big picture — what are the most important needs and priorities of our third senatorial district and how we can bring the greatest benefit and do the most good for the people that we represent.”
After congratulating the new delegation officers, Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero said she is respectfully requesting a list of the delegation’s revenue sources.
“Are we working with paper revenue or real liquidity in the bank?” she asked.
She also said that the 100% reprogramming authority granted to the governor by the current budget passed by the previous Legislature “is a reality that needs to be dealt with if we are to move forward with what is best for the CNMI and its people.”
Rep. Celina Babauta talks with Rep. Edwin Propst during the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation’s organizational session on Wednesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
Rep. Celina Babauta said, “This is the time to heal our Commonwealth,” adding that she is willing to put aside party affiliations “for the sake of our people.”
“I want to congratulate the officers and I wish all of you patience, compassion and the will to do the right thing for our people,” she added.
Rep. Vicente Camacho said the decisions they are going to make should be in the best interest of the people. “I also believe that this legislative body will work well today and in the future, thank you.”
Senate Vice President Justo Quitugua congratulated the newly elected members as well as the new delegation officers “for taking the lead to provide direction to this body.”
He said whoever will be appointed as chairman of the delegation’s Ways and Means Committee should obtain a record of all the financial expenditures of delegation accounts in the past two years, “so we can have a better picture of the appropriations that we have made and a better picture of whether there is still money in any account under the authority of [the delegation] and then we can move on from there.”
Vice Speaker Blas Jonathan Attao said he offers himself to the delegation officers and all the members, adding that he is willing to help as much as we can “as we move forward in the 22nd SNILD.”
Rep. Leila Staffler said as they begin “a new collaboration in making hard decisions for the community, I believe that we can do the most good if we focus on using all the data that is available to us with respect to our financial situation so that we can prioritize what is the best for our community, and I know I can work well with you in different ways so we can make good choices for our people.”
Rep. Joel Camacho said, “We have a long hard two years ahead of us, I just want to get to work — and congratulations once again.”
