By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
GENERATORS deployed after Super Typhoons Soudelor and Yutu were temporary FEMA assets and were taken back after restoration work ended, Commonwealth Utilities Corporation officials said Thursday, responding to growing public frustration and questions over why many water wells remain offline after Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
The clarification came during a tense public-comment session at CUC’s special board meeting, where lawmakers pressed utility leaders on the whereabouts of generators the community believed were still on island.
“We do not have from the past storm what maybe some people think that FEMA put generators everywhere. That’s not true,” CUC Chief Financial Officer Betty Terlaje said. “FEMA took the generators when the restorations opened. The generators didn’t stay.”
Board member Miranda Manglona echoed the point, saying the public had been misled by the assumption that FEMA-installed generators were permanent. “I just want to make it clear that the FEMA generators that were used during Super Typhoon Soudelor and Yutu… FEMA took it back,” she said. “Those were temporary. They were never given.”
The clarification followed pointed questions from Rep. Vincent S. Aldan, who said residents are demanding answers about why prepaid meters continue charging during outages, why generators expected to power Isley Field water pumps were not functioning, and why some villages still have no water service nearly a week after the storm.
Aldan also offered to volunteer his labor to repair well generators. “I don’t want to get paid. I just want to volunteer my time to get these generators up and running for the water wells,” he said, adding that bureaucratic delays were slowing emergency response.
Senate Vice President Corina Magofna likewise pressed CUC for clearer, more specific public updates, saying residents are wasting scarce fuel and time driving to water stations only to discover their areas still lack service.
“Communication and transparency are key so that the public know what to expect,” Magofna said. “Delayed or vague updates leave residents uncertain, unable to plan, and at times put them in situations that could have been avoided.”
CUC Executive Director Kevin Watson reported that about 45% of Saipan currently has water, with four water stations operating. He said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already brought in more than a dozen generators and is deploying 40 more to the Isley and Dandan tank service areas once the port fully reopens.
Still, officials acknowledged that roughly 100 wells remain without power or generators, and that damaged overhead lines are preventing the use of CUC’s large fixed generator at Isley Field.
Board Chair Allen Perez urged management to provide clearer timelines and more precise geographic boundaries for water and power restoration, saying residents need reliable information to recover safely.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
