CNMI residents held umbrellas as they stood in the rain along the road from Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport to the intersection of Middle Road and Msgr. Guerrero Road in San Jose, paying tribute to Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, whose remains arrived Saturday from Guam.
The largest crowd gathered in front of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. on Msgr. Guerrero Road in Dandan, where residents tossed plumeria flowers at the hearse carrying the governor’s casket. Residents on two CUC bucket trucks parked on either side of the road facing each other unfurled a large banner expressing love for the late governor.
The U.S. Air Force’s C-130 cargo aircraft carrying the governor’s remains arrived at 10:30 a.m. Newly sworn-in Gov. David M. Apatang, Lt. Gov. Dennis James C. Mendiola, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Senate President Karl King-Nabors, Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez, Vice Speaker Diego Vincent Camacho, along with other lawmakers and administration officials, had been waiting at the MACS hangar since as early as 9 a.m.
Apatang and Mendiola were escorted to the aircraft to meet First Lady Wella and the late governor’s children before members of the U.S. Air Force solemnly carried the casket into the MACS hangar.
Led by Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Macaranas, DPS officers received the casket from the Air Force and carried it to the waiting hearse.
Like everyone at the hangar, Apatang was teary-eyed as he awaited the governor’s remains. In an interview, he said the image of Palacios waving at him near the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. helipad was still vivid. “I couldn’t help but cry,” he said.
“We grew up in the same place — in Chalan Kanoa. My father is also a Palacios. We are related,” Apatang said.
He noted that he an Palacios had worked together for decades, from Palacios’s time as director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife to when he became secretary of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources. At that time, Apatang was the government’s procurement officer. Their offices, he recalled, were next to each other in Lower Base.
Their friendship continued through Apatang’s service in the Department of Finance and into their years in elected office. They served together in the House of Representatives until Palacios became House speaker.
“When I was Saipan mayor, he was Senate president. So whenever I needed assistance, I would go up there to see him,” Apatang said. “He was always very receptive whenever I asked for help for the island of Saipan and our people.”
The last time they spoke was when Apatang returned from the Marshall Islands, where he had attended the 27th Micronesian Islands Forum.
“I was telling him about what happened and all that,” Apatang said.
He acknowledged that there had always been a “perception” that he and Palacios had disagreements. “But like I said at our inauguration — whatever happens in the end, we always come back to understanding each other because our goal is to work for the people of the Commonwealth. And that’s what happened, in the end.”
Now, he said, “I will carry on whatever he has been doing. I am very much aware of what’s going on. I will continue the plans we made for the people of the Commonwealth.”
“I still couldn’t sleep at night,” Apatang added. “The image of him waving at us at the hospital is stuck in my head.”
Gov. David M. Apatang, Lt. Gov. Dennis James C. Mendiola and Chief Justice Alexandro Castro wait for the arrival of Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’s remains at the MACS hangar.
Former Rep. Edwin Propst, Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez at the hangar of Micronesian Air Cargo Services at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Saturday.
A U.S. Air Force C-130 carrying Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’s remains receives a water cannon salute from the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.
U.S. service members carry the casket bearing the remains of the late governor.
U.S. service members carrying the late governors’ casket approach the hangar
Department of Public Safety officers drape the CNMI flag over the late governor’s casket while fellow officers stand at attention.
Department of Public Safety officers salute the late governor’s casket before it is carried to the hearse.
Department of Public Safety officers carry the late governor’s casket to the waiting hearse.
An emotional Nicolasa Indalecio Celis extends a hand toward the casket of her nephew, the late governor.
A resident holds up a framed photo of the late Gov. Arnold I. Palacios along the roadside near the airport.
Along Airport Road, a resident holds a sign that reads, “We Love You, Governor.”
Members of the Herman R. “Pan” Guerrero family and some of their employees gather outside Herman’s Bakery and Café to pay tribute to the late governor on Airport Road.
Dung Tenorio, holding a miniature CNMI flag, was among the Joeten family members who paid tribute to the late governor.
Outside the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. office in Dandan, residents toss plumeria flowers at the hearse carrying the casket of the late Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.
