Gov. Benigno R. Fitial is expected to sign the budget bill, the fifth passed by the House of Representatives, to allow the 1,400 government employees affected by the shutdown to return to work on Tuesday. (Monday is Commonwealth Cultural Day, an unpaid holiday.)
The House session on Friday, which started at 5 p.m., passed without deliberations the new budget bill introduced by Ways and Means Chairman Ramon S. Basa, Covenant-Saipan. The vote was 12 to 7.
Rep. Ray N. Yumul, R-Saipan, was absent. Those who voted “no” were House Minority Leader Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, Reps. Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan, Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan, Fransisco S. Dela Cruz, R-Saipan, Trenton C. Conner, R-Tinian, Antonio P. Sablan, R-Saipan, and Teresita A. Santos, Ind.-Rota.
The Senate sessions started at 9 p.m. Each of the eight senators — Henry H. San Nicolas, Covenant-Tinian, was absent — spoke briefly, apologizing to the public for the delay in the passage of the budget, saying that they were just trying to prevent drastic paycuts that would be imposed on government employees. They said they were finally agreeing to the House version of the budget because they didn’t want to prolong the “suffering” of ordinary employees who had already lost 48 hours of work.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said the Senate offered “a lot of alternatives” to avoid a 16-hout cut, but the House leadership would not compromise.
The vote was 8-0 in favor of the House budget bill with Senate amendments, which included giving the Rota mayor 100 percent reprogramming authority,adding nine full time employees for the Rota mayor’s office and 17 for the Tinian Health Center.
The House earlier agreed to the $360,000 appropriation for the Rota charter flight subsidy, the promotion of Tinian as a tourist destination and payment to a travel agency for last year’s Rota charter flights.
House members were standing by during the Senate session, and immediately convened to approve the budget bill as amended by the senators.
Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan, in an interview, said the administration “recognized” the Senate’s effort to reduce the impact of the austerity measures. He said the administration would also like to do the same but “we don’t have enough financial resources.”
Demapan said the Legislature and the administration can later go back and take a look at the government’s financial situation.
Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, said she appreciated the Senate’s compassion for the government employees, but they must comply with the constitutional requirement to pass a balanced budget.
Basa said he felt “very relieved” that the 16-hour cut was passed by the Senate. He said this was the only provision that would ensure a balanced budget and avoid layoffs.
He said he had to give credit to the Senate’s effort to protect employees from a drastic reduction of working hours, but the Legislature had to come up with a “realistic and correct version of the bill.”
Edith Deleon Guerrero, executive director of Workforce Investment Agency, said she knew that both houses were fighting for the interest of the people, but something must be done to end the shutdown, which started on Oct. 1, the first day of fiscal year 2011.
She said every member of the Senate spoke with sincerity and honesty, and that they were “really for the interest of the people.”
“You can feel the energy tonight, it is very positive. And I can see how the lawmakers are truly concerned about the public,” she said.
All the 18 representatives voted yes to the budget bill as amended by the Senate. Santos and members of the minority bloc, except for Saipan Republican Reps. Eliceo D. Cabrera and Joseph M. Palacios, voted with “major reservations.” Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, did not return to the chamber as he was “not feeling well,” according to Ogumoro.
