AFTER completing a weeklong medical leave, House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations Chairwoman Celina R. Babauta has scheduled the resumption of the panel’s public hearings for Friday starting at 1 p.m.
This time, the witness who will appear before the committee is the assistant police chief of the Department of Public Safety, Kevin Aldan, who is also the officer-in-charge at the DPS Boating Safety division.
The committee, which is investigating Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’s public expenditures, will ask Aldan questions about documents and records pertaining to the governor’s off-island travels using DPS Boating Safety vessels.
The committee is investigating travel authorizations, log sheets and records indicating that “DPS boats were used to transport citizens to and around the Northern Islands, and DPS utility vehicles provided on-island ground transportation.”
Although the DPS records provided to the committee indicate that the governor’s promotional trip was considered an official function, and DPS personnel were tasked to provide safety and security, the committee states, “They do not directly address the question of whether the transport of citizens, including [YouTube influencer Robert] Arrington, his family, and crew, as well as the governor’s family members, friends, and associates, is in compliance with DPS regulations governing the use of department vehicles.”
The committee said it is looking into “possible multiple violations of the Commonwealth law and regulations that appeared to have occurred during the governor’s promotional trip to the Northern Islands, when he and other administration officials hosted Arrington’s ‘Deer Meat for Dinner’ in Pagan.”
In an interview, Babauta said Aldan did not request a translator. She said it is likely that Aldan would answer the committee’s questions in either Chamorro or English.
The committee has also approved the issuance of a subpoena to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, first lady Diann T. Torres, the governor’s executive secretary Frances Dela Cruz, Commonwealth Utilities Corp. Executive Director Gary Camacho, Department of Public Safety Commissioner Robert Guerrero and other police officers.
House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations Chairwoman Celina Babauta listens to the Legislature’s Sgt.-at-Arms Pete Towai during a hearing on Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’s public expenditures in the House chamber.
