This was why Ogumoro withdrew her Aug. 11, 2010 “request” to be excused from duty, effective Oct. 1, 2010.
Ogumoro sent the letter to Saipan Mayor Donald G. Flores. SHEFA is under the mayor’s office.
Ogumoro had to resign because the Constitution prohibits lawmakers from serving in any other government position including on a board.
However, Torres said Ogumoro received neither verbal nor written response from the mayor.
Ogumoro then delivered to the mayor’s office a second courtesy letter dated Sept. 29, formally declaring the withdrawal of her initial request to be excused from duty,Torres said.
Accept
But Mayor Flores said he has already accepted her resignation and is now asking Ogumoro to honor her decision to resign from the board.
“The SHEFA board must not be placed in any situation such as that you are now developing, for it is creating confusion and uncertainty,” stated the mayor’s letter dated Oct. 16 to Ogumoro.
Flores on Oct. 19 appointed Magdalena C. Camacho,as acting chairwoman of the board.
He told Camacho to ensure that no person who is not a current member of the board will conduct business on behalf of it.
Flores, who also serves on the board, told Camacho that SHEFA must not permit Ogumoro to act on behalf of the board as “her lack of authority undermines and jeopardizes the integrity and responsibilities of the board.”
On Sept. 29, Flores appointed Joe Mafnas as member of the SHEFA board but the Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation, of which Ogumoro is a member, has yet to confirm the nomination.
Mafnas accepted the appointment on Oct. 11, saying he will make decisions that are beneficial to the program and scholarship recipients.
But Torres, a former House member, said the mayor’s nominee is still subject to the confirmation process.
“Therefore, appointment and occupation of an acting board officer is contrary to standard procedure and law,” Torres said.
He also noted that it is the board that selects its officers.
Usurpation
In a case decided this month, Torres said the CNMI Supreme Court ruled that “every constitutional officer derives his power and authority from the Constitution, and the Legislature, in the absence of express constitutional authority, is as powerless to add to a constitutional office duties foreign to that office, as it is to take away duties that naturally belong to it.”
Torres said the mayor could not take on functions that were not constitutionally delegated to him.
“For that reason the mayor could not exercise his powers that usurped the functions of another statutorily established entity, such as the SHEFA board. That is, the mayor does not have the authority to take on functions which are delegated to the SHEFA board by law,” he said.
Affirm
On Oct. 15, the SHEFA board unanimously adopted a resolution affirming the membership status of its board of directors, Torres said
He said the memberships of John K. Tenorio, Jose Leon Guerrero and Felicidad T. Ogumoro were affirmed.
In a separate action, the SHEFA board also adopted a resolution declaring two vacancies on the board previously occupied and subsequently vacated by Max Olopai and Perry Tenorio, Torres said.
He said Ogumoro’s subsequent written courtesy request to Flores on Sept. 29 suggested a proposed exit date for her: Oct. 30 at 5 p.m.
Torres said the mayor did not reply for almost 60 days since getting the Aug. 11 letter of Ogumoro.
“There simply was no acknowledgement or attempt by Mayor Flores to communicate directly with SHEFA chairwoman Ogumoro, either in writing or through telephone communication to Ogumoro’s office, or even through a reliable third party acting on behalf of the first-time newly elected Saipan mayor,” Torres said.
He said the issue over board member tenure was caused by a lapsed confirmation and appointment of two previous nominees, and this compelled Ogumoro to reconsider her initial request and to extend her un-expired board membership.
“Without Ogumor’s continuing presence on the board, the governing body of only three members will be placed at risk for lack of quorum,” Torres said.
“Unless and until the SHEFA board of directors takes action in approving chairwoman Ogumoro’s ‘Request to Be Excused from a Duty’ in a duly convened board meeting, the seat presently occupied by Ogumoro remains filled by the incumbent until declared otherwise as vacant by the board,” he added.
