Sen. Celina R. Babauta speaks to reporters during a press conference in her office on Capital Hill, Tuesday.
SENATOR Celina R. Babauta on Tuesday described the Senate leadership as “dysfunctional.”
Babauta, who arrived from Japan on Sunday, held a press conference in her office to share her reaction to Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero’s decision to remove her as chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law.
She also responded to statements made by the Senate president, Sens. Dennis Mendiola, Frank Q. Cruz and Jude U. Hofschneider, who reacted to the comments of Reps. Marissa Flores and Manny Gregory T. Castro during Friday’s House session.
‘Long-standing’
Babauta said the Senate has “a long-standing dysfunctional leadership…. For the last 16 months, we have not had leadership meetings. Not a single one.”
But she said the Senate president does meet with minority members, which “is typically normal.”
She said she and the other members of the leadership are “not even privy when is the next session going to be.”
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising given my recent public endorsement of Rep. Manny Castro to seek a seat in the Senate.” she said.
Castro’s opponent is Deleon Guerrero, who is seeking reelection.
“I believe the decision to remove me from my chairmanship is simply political desperation,” Babauta said. “It is unfortunate that they feel the need to bring me down to lift themselves up, but my focus remains on serving the constituents of the Commonwealth,” she said, adding that she was unable to hold meetings for the JGL committee following the resignation of Mendiola and the “refusal” of Cruz, Karl King-Nabors and Hofschneider to take Mendiola’s place.
“The problem is the Senate’s underlying dysfunctional leadership that has plagued the Senate for the past 16 months,” Babauta said. “Since its inauguration, there have been no leadership meetings despite repeated requests from members of the leadership. The Senate president has just refused to call for a leadership meeting.”
Furthermore, she said, the Senate president has assumed the role and authority of the floor leader.
This, she added, “effectively concentrates power and control in the hands of the Senate president, creating an imbalance and a pattern of unilateral decision-making where only bills favored by the Senate president are prioritized on the calendar.”
“She controls everything now. The floor leader really doesn’t have powers anymore, except making motions to pass and adopt committee reports or anything like that,” Babauta said.
Untrue
Babauta also provided members of the media copies of her memoranda, appointing Cruz as a member of the JGL committee after Mendiola, who is from Rota, gave up his seat to make way for a member from Tinian.
In a memorandum addressed to King-Nabors dated July 19, 2023, Babauta said, “In the interest of moving forward with important Senate matters, I am appointing Senator Frank Q. Cruz to replace and fill the vacant seat left by Senator Dennis C. Mendiola.”
On July 21, 2023, she issued another memorandum informing the Senate president of her appointment of Cruz to the JGL committee, and Senate Floor Leader Corina L. Magofna to the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations, which Babauta also chairs.
In the next memo dated Sept. 22, 2023, Babauta appointed King-Nabors to be a member of the JGL committee because “Senator Cruz has informed me in the meeting that he is unwilling to be a member of the JGL committee.”
This memo was followed by another one on Nov. 1, 2023, informing King-Nabors that “I have not received any communication or reply that you have accepted the appointment. There are important bills that must be marked up and disposed of and I would appreciate your response whether you accept to be a member of the JGL committee by Nov. 6, 2023.”
Babauta sent King-Nabors a follow-up memo on Nov. 9, 2023, reiterating his appointment to the JGL committee.
In another memo on Nov. 28, 2023, Babauta appointed Hofschneider after her office received a phone call from King-Nabors’ staff member, saying that he, King-Nabors, had declined to be a member of the JGL committee.
Babauta issued another follow-up memo to Hofschneider saying that “I would like to confirm your membership on the JGL committee. Your input is appreciated, and I believe you will make a significant contribution to the committee’s work.”
Babauta told reporters that Cruz “took his sweet time and did not respond until two and half months later to the memo through which I followed up, [and] he said he was unwilling to be a member of JGL.”
She said it also took King-Nabors two months to tell her that he did not want to be part of the JGL committee. After her repeated attempts to engage with Cruz and King-Nabors, Babauta said she appointed Hofschneider.
“So I don’t know. I won’t speculate. I wonder if this is just their way of frustrating the legislative process,” she said.
Babauta said Cruz’s claim that Tinian was denied representation on the committee “is utterly dishonest.”
She cited Section 7(a) of the Senate Rules, which stated that members of a standing committee shall be appointed by the committee chair provided that one appointed member shall be a minority member in no less than four committees.
She said there are eight committees in the Senate, and the minority members are members of the eight Senate committees.
However, she said, Tinian senators want to be on the Executive Appointments and Government Investigation Committee.
“I think you guys can ask them why,” she added.
In reaction to Cruz’s statement that she was “unwelcoming,” Babauta said, “it is totally dishonest and utterly false.”
“The record will speak for itself that I met with him and I have written seven memos. It took me seven tries to get them to engage and now they are coming up with these untruths about me having failed to engage them,” Babauta said.
She said it is “quite amusing” that Cruz, who declined to be a part of the committee, “is now the most critical and crying [about] unfair practices claiming I didn’t want him to be a member when he was the first one appointed back in July 2023.”
She said the members of the Tinian Legislative Delegation have resorted to “nonsense and lip service.”
“At the time of our installation last January 2023, at least one member of the minority was included in all eight Senate committees. It is clear that his claims have no validity. The timeline clearly demonstrates repeated attempts to engage the Tinian senators and appoint a replacement from Tinian. The record is clear that they declined to be a member of the JGL,” Babauta reiterated.
Parking space
Babauta said she doesn’t know why and how the rift between her and the Senate president started.
Babauta said she did complain about the Senate president’s designating a parking space for each senator.
In her letter to Legislative Bureau Director Perry Tenorio on May 2, 2023, Babauta said “while the Senate president does have the authority to assign Senate parking slots pursuant to Rule 13 Section 4, this rule does not provide that the Senate president has the control to micromanage how the slot is used. As you know, there is a drainage grill that poses a hazard to me when I exit my vehicle when I park, rear-end first.”
Babauta said she preferred to park in the area where she could safely exit the vehicle without encountering the metal grill.
“But I won’t play victim to that. I won’t let that distract me. My record speaks for itself. I have been the only legislator who has volunteered my salary for the last two years — without taking tax credit as some would suggest — and donate it to Kagman High School for the needy children. It has helped them purchase graduation gowns for those who can’t afford it,” she said.
She said she also brought a U.S-based foundation to the CNMI to help Tinian students last year. There are other numerous actions that she has taken that helped the community, she added.
Comments
Asked for comment, King-Nabors said Babauta’s memoranda “aren’t necessarily a reflection of the conversations that were had between colleagues pertaining to the issues in question.”
He said if there was any misrepresentation of the facts during Monday’s session, members would have sought a clarification.
He also believes that Cruz’s comments stand on their own. His accounts were not contradicted by Sen. Paul A. Manglona, who chaired the Rules Committee, King-Nabors said.
He added that Cruz’s statements were supported by the comments of the Senate president herself.
For her part, the Senate president said her memorandum regarding the senator’s parking slots was “necessary because a peeping Tom parks in the Senator’s assigned space, which is next to me. Further, a sitting Senator informed me that the same individual twice peeked into her vehicle while she was sitting in her car. The assigned stalls are for the elected officials’ safety and security.”
She said “the same peeping Tom/stalker walked twice into my office while I was alone…, stopped and just stared at me and left. So yes, safety and security for all is necessary.”
Initially, Deleon Guerrero added, “Senator Babauta’s original assignment is where Senator Paul parks now. They switched parking spots on their own. It’s the truth and no I don’t control parking lots. I need to be trained how to be a parking lot manager.”
