Commonwealth Ports Authority board member Steve Mesngon speaks during a special meeting in the CPA conference room on Tuesday.
COMMONWEALTH Ports Authority board member Steve Mesngon on Tuesday urged the Legislature to create a tariff commission that will approve and oversee the rates of seaport services.
The legal opinion that Assistant Attorney General Gregory Cenac intended to be confidential was inadvertently discussed in the presence of the public during the board’s special meeting on Tuesday, prior to the board’s decision to terminate Rota Terminal & Transfer’s lease agreement.
Board member Ramon A. Tebuteb initially asked to reinstate the executive session on the meeting agenda so they could talk about Cenac’s opinion behind closed doors.
Although the executive or closed-door session part of the meeting was restored, a heated exchange between Tebuteb, board member Thomas P. Villagomez and board chair Jose Ayuyu led to the discussion of the legal counsel’s opinion on tariff rates to address the “soaring” cost of commodities on Rota.
Tebuteb and Villagomez did not want the board to include RT&T’s “exorbitant” rates as among the reasons for terminating the lease because, quoting Cenac’s legal advice, if the board terminates RT&T’s lease based on the rates of its stevedoring services, CPA may be required to hire an expert to prove it. And this will be at a greater cost and risk to CPA.
They also cited the assistant AG’s opinion that CPA’s lease agreement does not require RT&T to seek the board’s approval if the stevedoring company wants to increase its rates.
The board then terminated the lease based on RT&T failure to provide CPA with a business license.
During the discussion prior to the roll-call vote, Mesngon cited the concern of Rota Merchandising Corp. owner Pedro Q. Dela Cruz regarding the high cost of commodities on Rota. “I recommend to some of our leaders since Sen. Paul A. Manglona is here, to take a look at the tariff rates as recommended by our legal counsel.”
He echoed Cenac’s legal opinion that nothing stops RT&T from increasing its rate. So it’s up to the Legislature to pass a law that will create a tariff commission, “which I highly recommend” so that the people of Rota “will no longer have this problem in the future.”
“We don’t have the authority to fight RT&T on tariff. It’s now in the hands of Legislature to create that tariff commission and we go from there,” Mesngon added.
