ASKED about the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations’ announcement that it will reopen the investigation into his public expenditures, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Friday said: “I don’t know what other kind of information they’re seeking other than what has already been provided, but [conducting an investigation] is their prerogative. In the meantime, I will continue to do what I need to do to maintain the safety of our community, make sure that we continue to work hard in bringing back our tourism, and working, again, with our private partners.”
He said he is hoping that lawmakers, for their part, will come up with revenue-generating and other bills to address pressing CNMI issues such as unemployment.
“Let’s work together. My office is open,” he said, noting that the CNMI has a lot of issues to address.
Press Secretary Kevin Bautista on Thursday said the House committee’s announcement “is another blatant political attempt by the Democrats and their Guam tabloid source to smear the governor and this administration, while he continues to lead the work of rebuilding our economy and our Covid-19 response which has kept all of us safe.”
Bautista said a bipartisan special committee was formed during the previous Legislature, and it transferred oversight to the Office of the Public Auditor, which, he added, is the appropriate agency to review and investigate such matters.
“The Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance have cooperated fully in the past with last year’s special committee’s inquiries and hearings, taking time out to print documents for then-candidate Celina Babauta and their party for their Open Government Act requests,” Bautista said.
“The findings of the special committee’s draft report showed no finding of consequence. The people elect their public officials to legislate and help the community. While there is a lot of good work being done by Governor Torres, Lt. Governor Palacios, the House minority, the Senate leadership, the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, and the Covid-19 Task Force to keep people safe and rebuild the economy, Representative Babauta and some of the Democrats are choosing to play politics once again. The governor and lt. governor continue to welcome all members of the Legislature to the table to come up with solutions together to the islands’ complex problems given these unprecedented times.”
In response, Rep. Celina Babauta, chairperson of the House JGO committee, on Friday said, “I suppose [Press Secretary] Bautista, [special adviser Robert] Hunter and Governor Torres will find that Chief Judge [Ramona] Manglona was being wasteful, nonsensical and politically motivated when she signed Torres’ search and seizure warrant for his home and his tax records and that the timeliness of FBI raids in 2019 were questionable, too.”
Babauta added, “Perhaps they should all educate themselves and read the CNMI Constitution when they’re not busy misrepresenting the truth based on drunken logic. It is within my purview as the chair of a committee to conduct oversight and reforms when necessary. The Constitution allows no member of the Legislature to transfer his or her inherent oversight authority to the public auditor’s office. OPA, certainly, has its own investigative powers. Bautista’s comments are insulting to OPA and their staff by saying their investigative authority is hollow at best.”
She added that Bautista and Hunter should heed the governor’s advice to “respect the process.”
Additionally, she said that neither she nor the CNMI Democratic Party owns any media companies on Guam.
Ralph DLG Torres
