Palacios left for Waikiki, Hawaii on Wednesday, the same day after he and Dela Cruz went to see the governor.
Dela Cruz wanted to explain to Fitial why he resigned but did not have the chance to do so because the governor had to attend to a series of important meetings.
Dela Cruz resigned after Fitial rejected his travel authorization.
Palacios will attend the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s annual meeting in Hawaii, an event that Dela Cruz wanted to attend.
Press Secretary Angel A. Demapan, in an interview yesterday, said Fitial did not allow Dela Cruz to leave because the governor believed it was more appropriate for the Fish and Wildlife director to attend the meeting.
The Wespac meeting, Demapan said, focuses on fisheries.
Also attending the meeting is Jack Ogumoro, Wespac’s coordinator for the CNMI, a position funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Demapan said the administration has always been very careful when approving travel authorizations.
Fitial has appointed DLNR lands registration division director Joaquin Songsong as the department’s acting secretary.
