As soon as DPS and Corrections become one, the governor said he does not have to appoint a new Corrections commissioner.
Corrections used to be a division of DPS before a 2004 law authored by then-Rep. Clyde K. Norita, Covenant-Saipan, and signed by then-Republican Gov. Juan N. Babauta, P.L. 14-25, created the department. Fitial, Covenant-Saipan, was then speaker of the House.
At that time, the federally mandated new corrections facility was still being constructed.
Proponents of P.L. 14-25 said there was a need for it as a result of the consent decree issued by the federal court in Feb. 1999, which required the CNMI to correct deficiencies in its corrections system and to address future population growth.
“Like I always said, you can change anything, any regulation, any law because these are all man-made,” Fitial said yesterday. “The only things we cannot change are the 10 Commandments because they are not man-made.”
Asked if merging departments will result in job cuts, Fitial said it is his administration’s goal to streamline government operations to achieve efficiency.
Not fired
Fitial also clarified that he did not fire former DPS Commissioner Santiago F. Tudela.
“There was no word ‘termination’ in that letter,” said Fitial referring to his letter informing Tudela about the appointment of Ramon C. Mafnas as the next DPS commissioner.
The governor said he understands that it was to Tudela’s disadvantage to continue working as DPS commissioner because he is receiving retirement benefits which is more than he is supposed to get as commissioner.
“There was no problem with Tudela’s management,” Fitial said.
He said he chose Corrections Commissioner Ramon C. Mafnas to replace Tudela because he believes that Mafnas “has proven himself to be a good manager.”
Fitial said Mafnas “improved” Corrections.
“To tell you the truth I never expected him to improve [Corrections] but he did it,” the governor said, adding that when Mafnas was his senior policy adviser, he usually sent him to Corrections “whenever I needed somebody to go down to [that department.”
“He is good and he is very objective, not political. He knows his stuff, all the workings of public safety and specially corrections,” Fitial said.
