COMMONWEALTH Ports Authority Executive Director Christopher Tenorio, CPA Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds and other CPA officials on Tuesday said the transition report on CPA was “fraught with factual inaccuracies.
King-Hinds said she does not believe that the statements in the transition report reflect the view of the Palacios-Apatang administration.
But, she added, “it is a reflection of the personal comments of certain people.”
The CPA transition team was chaired by Teresita B. Camacho, and its members were Juan N. Babauta, Rudy Babauta, Bruce Jorgensen, Frances Mafnas, Cody Norita and Leo Tudela.
The transition report stated, among other things, that the CPA board chair “is micro-managing” the ports authority.
King-Hinds said she and other board members met with Gov. Palacios last week and briefed him on what CPA is doing to address the issues and concerns mentioned in the transition report.
She also told the governor that her term is expiring in October this year. She asked him to appoint a replacement for former Vice Chairman Roman Tudela who resigned in January, “so we can start transferring information to the new appointee about the issues and challenges facing CPA.”
For his part, CPA board member Pete P. Reyes said he was glad that the chair had already met with the governor.
He said it is important that CPA officials are well-prepared and armed with all the information when meeting with the governor, “so that we know which part of the [transition report] we can discuss with the governor and be factual about it.”
Reyes noted that his term will also expire this year, so “let the governor know that if he wants somebody to replace me, he is welcome to do that.”
Inaccurate
In his report to the board, Executive Director Christopher Tenorio said the transition report “is fraught with factual inaccuracies, and this has led to recommendations that, if implemented, will hinder CPA’s ability to efficiently and effectively manage and operate the ports.”
He said the transition report “misinforms the administration of the state of CPA and its operations, and as such, the recommendations therein should carry little weight.”
But, he said, CPA acknowledges some of the issues and concerns raised in the transition report, such as CPA’s fiscal outlook which must be addressed.
He said CPA has taken steps to address and resolve this and other challenges.
Unfortunately, he added, the valid points in the transition report “are overshadowed by the inaccuracies that are peppered throughout the report.”
Even more concerning, Tenorio said, is the fact that some transition team members have conflicts of interest in drafting this report.
For example, the report recommends that at least one current CPA board member be replaced with a member from the transition team.
Logically, Tenorio said, the administration is more likely to replace CPA board members if the transition report casts a negative light on CPA’s operations.
This, he added, “incentivizes transition team members to make baseless negative findings and recommendations.”
Tenorio believes that the transition report is a “patchwork of executive summaries authored by each transition team member, and that the transition team did not collectively discuss their respective executive summary findings and recommendations before creating the transition report.”
He also noted the difficulties CPA had in obtaining a copy of the transition report.
Earlier this month, he said, CPA submitted an Open Government Act request for a copy of the transition report.
In response, he said the transition committee told CPA that the report was being withheld because it was an “internal document,” but that a copy would be provided “should action be taken regarding CPA due to the contents of the transition report.”
Tenorio said they obtained a copy of the transition report from Sen. Paul A. Manglona, who brought it up in a March 15, 2023, public hearing conducted by Senate Standing Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications which the senator chairs.
Although CPA was asked to be present and provide comments at the hearing, Tenorio said he and other CPA officials were not given an opportunity to review the transition report.
Where the buck stops
As for the transition committee’s finding that she was “micro-managing” CPA, King-Hinds said: “Unlike any board chair, I signed off as the contracting officer, which means at the end of the day, the buck stops with me, which means, I’m not going to sign off if I do not have full knowledge of what the heck I am being asked to sign.”
She added, “I am an attorney. You think I’m just going to let management come to me and say ‘here sign this piece of document’ without knowing all the facts before signing…? That is just not going to happen.”
“Level up CNMI,” she said. “Level up. I think we’re used to board members coming in and being passive and just waiting, collecting [$30 or $50] per diem or stipend because we are getting rich by that on a monthly basis, right?”
But, “I take my duties and responsibilities seriously so I want to know whenever a community member comes to me and asks me, ‘What is going on at commuter terminal,’ Chris you will get a phone call, right? And if I can’t get a specific answer from you, I’ll call [Project Manager] Wendi [Prater] because she can give me a full detailed breakdown,” King-Hinds said.
She said CPA board members are prohibited “from walking into the administration office. This board does not go to CPA and order people around. We just don’t do that. This is not 2008 when you had a board chair with an office and being driven around by ports police. This is not that time anymore. None of that stuff happens now.”
There are rules and regulations, she said.
Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds, center, with board members Ramon Tebuteb, left, Thomas “Kiyu” Villagomez, second right, Joseph Diaz, right, and legal counsel Robert T. Torres, second left, listen to a report of CPA Executive Director Christopher Tenorio during a special board meeting on Tuesday in the Port of Saipan conference room.
CPA Executive Director Christopher Tenorio reports to the board during its special meeting Tuesday.
CPA board member Pete P. Reyes delivers his remarks during a special board meeting on Tuesday.
