Crispin Ogo
FORMER Rep. Crispin Manglona Ogo on Friday filed a motion for a temporary restraining order with the District Court for the NMI to stop “our great Gov. David M. Apatang from appointing Sen. Paul Manglona” to the 24th CNMI Senate.
Following the swearing-in of Apatang and Lt. Gov. Dennis James Mendiola, Senate Vice President Karl King-Nabors said the Rota Senate seat vacated by Mendiola would be filled by Manglona, who lost to Sen. Ronnie Calvo in the November 2024 election.
Section 9, Article II of the CNMI Constitution states:
“A vacancy in the legislature shall be filled by special election if one-half or more of the term remains. If less than one-half of the term remains, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointing the unsuccessful candidate for the office in the last election who received the largest number of votes and is willing to serve or, if no candidate is available, a person qualified for the office from the district represented.”
In an interview on Sunday, Ogo — who placed third in the five-way Rota senatorial race in the 2022 election, losing to Mendiola — said he should be the one the governor appoints to fill the seat vacated by Mendiola.
“I have 415 voters who trusted my ability to lead the First Senatorial District in the 2022 general election,” Ogo said. “I am vying for the seat recently vacated by former Senate President Dennis Mendiola.”
He said he is mentally and physically capable of serving in the Senate for the next 17 months if appointed by the governor. Furthermore, Ogo said that in recent days, “individuals from Luta have been calling to congratulate me because they believe they voted for me and not Mr. Manglona. This is what prompted me to file in the CNMI District Court pursuant to Article I, Section 102 of U.S. Public Law 94-241.”
Ogo added that he will do his best to represent the 415 voters — “including myself,” he noted — who supported him in 2022. He said he hopes to prove that Article II, Section 9 of the CNMI Constitution, and the CNMI Supreme Court’s ruling interpreting it, should be set aside in his favor.
He emphasized that the votes cast in 2022 should be protected and that he is determined to defend those voters as a layman presenting his case before the federal court.
“This is why I’ve been advocating for many years, as a former program manager at the Indigenous Affairs Office for PSS, for U.S. Public Law 94-241 and the CNMI Constitution to be taught as a two-semester course for junior and senior students CNMI-wide,” Ogo said.
