THE House Special Committee on Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding on Wednesday told the lawyer of Robert Travilla and Salina Sapp that they would be held in contempt if they fail to appear before the panel on March 7, 8 or 11.
On behalf of his clients, attorney Joseph Horey asked the panel to reschedule their appearance dates for March 18 to 27, March 25 to 29 or any day from April 1 or later.
The committee is conducting an investigation into the federally funded, $17 million Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together program of the previous administration.
Travilla and Sapp were contracted by the administration of then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres to promote BOOST.
In rejecting Horey’s request, Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, the chair of the committee, said the House will begin the meetings and hearings for the fiscal year 2025 budget in March and April. Other House committees will also conduct meetings next month, he added.
“The committee is only giving you March 7, 8, 11,” he told Horey. “Those are the only dates we have. And the committee will [find them in contempt] if they don’t show up. We gave your clients almost a month to prepare. So there is no reason for another extension,” Yumul said.
In response, Horey said, “So those are the dates I will notify my clients.”
In an interview, Yumul said the special committee gave the former BOOST contractors ample time to prepare — a total of five weeks.
He said the hearing schedule for another former BOOST contractor, Shane Villanueva, is set for March 5 to 6. Villanueva is represented by attorney Keith Chambers.
On Tuesday, former Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig appeared before the panel with attorney Bruce Berline but was told that his appearance was scheduled for March.
“He is the last on the list, so we scheduled him for March. We gave him the schedule on Tuesday,” Yumul said.
Justice
Michael Mahinay, a Saipan resident, told the committee on Tuesday that “it is time to bring justice to our community.”
He said the people “have witnessed the corruption that has been unfolding for far too long.” The BOOST program was meant to help the community thrive, but instead became a political tool for personal gain, he said.
“Only a few benefitted from it,” Mahinay added.
He hopes the committee will be able to recover some of the funds.
Look at the facts
Del Benson, another Saipan resident, told the panel: “I hope [this] doesn’t become a witch hunt and a Salem witch trial.”
He added, “I think, especially with BOOST, we need to go after those who did not use the funding. But let’s not make this a targeted Ralph or Arnold attack,” referring to the former governor and his successor.
“Because that is dishonest — because both sides play games, and we need to look at the facts, address the issues that need to be addressed. And we need to address corruption in the islands, absolutely. But that is a two-fold thing. It’s not one-sided,” he said.
“Many times the people have seen that it was always the other side. Whoever is in power, they are the ones that are corrupt. And it changes hands. So let’s be honest about it. I know this is not the best politically correct thing to say, but I want to be honest with how sometimes we close our eyes. So let’s address the issues, but let’s try and put down our ‘I don’t like that person, I don’t like that, whatever.’ Address the issues that need to be addressed and let’s really try and promote some transparency and honesty out of all this,” Benson said.
Closure
On Wednesday, Rep. Marissa Flores, a member of the committee, said Mahinay “reminded us of the reason why we are here and why the committee was established.”
She said voters and taxpayers would like to see these hearings “come to some kind of a conclusion.”
She added, “I also hope that this committee is ready to issue contempt if none of [the former BOOST contractors] appear…. The people deserve answers, and the people deserve this BOOST hearing to come to a closure. I want the general public to know that we are here as a committee, working together to ensure that these hearings bring us to an end result and that whatever needs to happen, happens based on the evidence at hand. So please, to the people of the CNMI, March 7, 8, and 11 are the confirmed dates. If any extension is requested, I would hope that the committee will take a vote on it.”
House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, the committee vice chair, said there has been evidence of misuse and abuse of government funds. “I would like for us, this committee, to see what money can be returned back to the Commonwealth,” he added.
“There is money that needs to be returned…to the people of the Commonwealth. We are in dire straits right now and any recovery is a good thing. It’s not to try to hurt somebody or anything, it’s just that…you were paid too much, or this money does not belong to you or [there were] excessive charges…and it must be returned. It is no different from someone who was overpaid by the government, for example, or the bank. They’re going to want their money back. Well, on behalf of the people, I want to see that money returned. I want to see that because of the financial situation. It is sad to see us struggling, the average families who are just living paycheck to paycheck, barely surviving while some are living high off the hog, living the grandest lives, which is not a problem if you earned the money fair and legitimately. It is [a problem] when you use your connections…to enrich yourself,” Propst said.
In Jan. 2023, the House Committee on Judiciary and Governmental Operations chaired by Rep. Marissa Flores announced that given “the initiation of several criminal investigations into the BOOST program, the…JGO Committee agreed that it would not conduct additional legislative hearings regarding the BOOST Program. The JGO Committee agreed on respecting the process and avoiding conflict with…ongoing criminal investigations.”
