In his recent travel to South Korean, he named Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council member Ralph Yumul as acting mayor.
This time, he appointed his executive secretary Vinycia Seman as officer in charge.
The mayor will attend the 79th Annual Conference of Mayors in Baltimore, Maryland from June 17 to 21.
According to his memorandum dated June 15, he will be on official government business from June 16 to 28.
The memorandum was addressed to all department and activity heads and copies were furnished to Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos, Speaker Eli Cabrera, Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation Chairman Ramon A. Tebuteb and Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council Chairman Ramon B. Camacho.
“Please extend your full cooperation and support to Ms. Seman as she assumes these additional responsibilities,” the mayor said in the memo.
Seman said her designation as officer in charge “is only to ensure that the daily operations of the mayor’s office are fully undertaken.”
It “does not make me an acting mayor,” she added. “I am only an employee assigned to monitor assigned duties and responsibilities of all the respective divisions of the mayor’s office.”
The mayor was invited thrice to the conference but decided only to go this year, she said.
Camacho, who earlier questioned the mayor’s authority to appoint an acting mayor, said he “highly respects the local delegation.”
The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation earlier passed House Local Bill 17-1 which is now Saipan Local Law 17-8.
The law mandates that whenever the mayor of Saipan is physically absent from the third senatorial district, the chairman of the Saipan municipal council will be acting mayor.
Camacho said the legislative delegation already sought the opinion of its legal counsel regarding the law which Flores believed is unconstitutional.
“I will just wait for that,” Camacho said, referring to the legal opinion.
He added that he didn’t get a copy of the mayor’s June 15 memo.
In a separate memorandum, Flores designated his budget and finance officer Teri B. Camacho as acting administrator of the Saipan Higher Education and Financial Assistance program.
SHEFA administrator Henry Hofschneider, who is also the mayor’s adviser, is on official government business from June 16 to 24.
Hofschneider is traveling with the mayor.
