THE minority senators’ plan to oust Senate President Paul A. Manglona has failed.
“We don’t have the numbers,” Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero, American Reform-Saipan, told Variety yesterday.
Sen. Jose M. Dela Cruz, D-Tinian, who was expected by the minority senators to join them, announced that he is still with the current leadership team.
Guerrero, Senate Minority Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, and Sen. Thomas P. Villagomez, R-Saipan, were on Tinian yesterday to meet with Senate Vice President David M. Cing, D-Tinian, and Dela Cruz and finalize the new leadership setup.
Dela Cruz, however, arrived with Senate Floor Leader Joaquin G. Adriano, D-Tinian, who is supporting Manglona, R-Rota. Dela Cruz then notified the Saipan senators and Cing that he was turning down their offer to become Senate president.
“I’m still with the current majority,” Dela Cruz told Variety yesterday.
Villagomez, in a separate interview, said he attended the meeting as an “observer.”
“I didn’t say anything. I was there only to observe,” he said. “(Guerrero) is right. They don’t have the numbers.”
Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig, R-Rota and a Manglona supporter, said Villagomez is still with the current leadership.
Reyes said Tinian missed a “golden opportunity.”
For the first time in CNMI history, a Tinian lawmaker could have become Senate president, Reyes said.
He added that Cing, Manglona’s former close ally turned bitter critic, had expressed willingness to be Senate president.
“When a motion to have Cing as president is made, he has already four votes, so it will be up to the other Tinian senators to deliver the winning votes,” Reyes said.
Guerrero said they were surprised when Dela Cruz decided not to defect to their group.
The original plan was for the three Saipan senators and Cing to nominate Dela Cruz as the next Senate president, Guerrero said.
When Dela Cruz turned down the offer, Guerrero said Cing “explicitly” offered himself to become the next president.
Dela Cruz said he prefers the current leadership because it is composed of the lawmakers from Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
He said “no island and its people” should be left behind, adding that he has confidence in Manglona’s leadership.
“We need to work together with the House of Representatives and the governor. Squabbling over personal political agendas will not achieve the goals that we are sworn to achieve. I have confidence in Senate President Manglona’s leadership and I am going to stand by it,” Dela Cruz said.
Saying that he was “very unhappy,” Cing told Variety that he would resign as Senate vice president and chairman of the powerful Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigation.
His resignation will take effect on Friday.
“I wish (the current leadership) good luck,” he said.
Cing said he was “betrayed” by his former allies and vowed “never to sleep with my enemies.”
Manglona, in a separate interview, appealed to his colleagues to end the bickering.
“We should not fight—we should move forward and do the work that the public expect us to do, and that is to pass legislation that would help improve the lives of the people.”
He added, “Let us give our emotions time to settle down. We need to cool off and remember that we are here to work for the benefit of the commonwealth.”
Dela Cruz said Cing’s concerns “can be rectified and corrected.”
Cing “exploded” during the afternoon session on Monday after Atalig moved to reconsider the rejection of former Rota Sen. Edward U. Maratita’s nomination to the Commonwealth Development Authority’s board of directors.
The nomination was rejected by a 4 to 5 vote during the morning session, with Cing insisting that Maratita could not sit on the CDA board because the former senator defaulted on his CDA loan.
Atalig said the issue on Maratita’s nomination “is done, gone and over.”
“I was the one opposing his rejection. I was defeated, I accept it. It is finished. Let us now move forward,” Atalig said.
“All I ask from Senator Cing is to refrain from using cuss words during the session,” he added.
When told that the current leadership is willing to “talk things over” with him, Cing said: “No, no, no! I now know who are my enemies and I don’t sleep with my enemies. I’d rather be a lone minority than be part of this leadership. I don’t trust them.”
He said he didn’t resign to form “another leadership,” nor is he “hungry” for a higher position.
“All I want is seriousness, trust and not dirty politics,” Cing added. “I have no time to play politics anymore.”
Reyes denied that he caused the in-fighting among the Tinian senators.
Dela Cruz said Reyes “successfully instigated” the bickering among the three Tinian senators.
“I did not cause the commotion,” Reyes said. “I only responded to the invitation to support Tinian. I was only invited to attend a caucus.”
He added, “When I was on Tinian, I expected Dela Cruz to thank me for supporting him, and not to blame me for this fiasco.”
Still, “I am thankful for, and humbled by, the invitation of the Tinian senators. That was better than not being invited to join the leadership,” Reyes said, adding that the Rota senators never asked him to join the current leadership.
Atalig said he would assume the chairmanship of the Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigation.
Cing on Tuesday afternoon said he was removing Atalig from the committee.
Atalig is the committee vice chairman.
He said Sen. Diego M. Songao, the chairman of the Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications Committee, will remove Senator Guerrero from the panel.
Atalig said Songao, Covenant-Rota, was irked by Guerrero’s decision to issue a notice on Tuesday announcing the cancellation of a scheduled public hearing today and tomorrow on Rota.
Atalig said Reyes will replace Guerrero while Villagomez will remain chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law.
