Felipe Q. Atalig
LIEUTENANT Gov. David M. Apatang and Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul met with Attorney General Edward Manibusan on Wednesday morning in an attempt to address the settlement proposal offered by former DPW public information officer Felipe Q. Atalig.
Atalig is seeking a $200,000 settlement following Superior Court Judge Pro Tempore Dana A. Gutierrez’s order last month, reversing the Civil Service Commission’s dismissal of his complaint against DPW.
According to Atalig, the AG has advised DPW to await the Superior Court’s ruling on his case.
Atalig said he appreciates that the AG is “doing his job really well.”
He added that the meeting means a lot to him “because it shows there is an effort to resolve my case.”
Atalig said he was also touched by Yumul’s efforts to reach a settlement.
Atalig noted that on March 12, 2018, following his termination from DPW on an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied, the AG told then-DPW Secretary James Ada that “until criminal charges are filed, Mr. Atalig must remain on the payroll.”
The AG also advised Ada that “it would be proper for [Atalig] to be suspended with pay or placed in administrative leave with pay during the notice period.”
But Atalig said the DPW officials during the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres did not listen to the AG.
“I’m blaming the previous DPW secretary for my predicament,” Atalig said. “The current DPW secretary is very nice to me,” he added.
Atalig, 84, filed a petition for judicial review of his case five years ago. After all the CNMI judges recused themselves, CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro Castro appointed Guam Judge Dana Gutierrez to preside over the case as judge pro tempore.
Ada terminated Atalig in March 2018 for alleged sexual harassment. But Atalig, in his subsequent complaint against DPW, said he and a male co-worker were “joking around” when he placed his hands in his co-worker’s pocket.
Atalig believes that his termination was pretextual, and that the real reason for it was an unrelated workplace dispute between him and DPW Administrative Services Director Peter Camacho.
