THE House Committee on Ways and Means says the certifications made by Gov. Juan N. Babauta on the salaries of four appointees contain inconsistencies.
The committee, however, said the certifications for Attorney General Robert T. Torres and acting Finance Secretary Frankie B. Villanueva were not inconsistent with the law.
The two officials will receive an annual salary of $80,000.
“Pursuant to (the law, they) may each earn up to $80,000 (and) neither the governor’s certification nor legislative sanction is necessary,” the committee report said.
The governor earlier informed lawmakers that he had lifted the salary cap for the following: Juan I. Castro, director of the Division of Environmental Quality will receive $55,000 or $5,000 more than the salary cap for that position; Francisco I. Taitano, the governor’s special assistant for customs and quarantine, will receive $60,000 or $10,000 more than the salary cap for that position; Celina R. Babauta, the governor’s secretary will have $45,000, exceeding by $15,000 the salary cap for secretaries; and Robert J. Schwalbach, the governor’s senior policy advisor, will receive $65,000 or $15,000 more than the cap.
The committee said the “governor’s letter does not assert that Castro meets” the criteria set by the law.
Rep. Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan and the committee chairman, said the Legislature has to sanction the lifting before it is implemented.
In the case of Taitano, Schwalbach and Celina R. Babauta, Torres said the governor has to justify the waiver “with particularity on the basis that no qualified person was willing to take the appointed position within the limit.” Their pay levels also need legislative sanction, according to Torres.
