FORMER Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes was elected new minority leader of the 13th Senate.
The move addresses the issue on who would represent minority senators in the leadership meetings.
Reyes will also serve as the Senate’s representative to the Inter-agency Audit Advisory Group chaired by Gov. Juan N. Babauta.
Saipan senators said Reyes’s assumption of post as minority leader will give him “more authority.” “I am grateful to my two Saipan colleagues in electing me to be the minority leader,” Reyes told Variety yesterday.
“Saipan is actually a minority in this case. Now, I can fully represent the interest of my constituents,” Reyes added.
Minority Sen. Ramon S. Guerrero said Reyes’s varied experience in the Senate can help “protect the interest” of Saipan.
He said the minority senators would be “more informed” about the details within the leadership because of Reyes’s representation.
“I would give him my respect. I definitely expect that he will protect the interest of the minority senators,” Guerrero, American Reform-Saipan, told Variety in a separate interview.
Another minority lawmaker, Sen. Thomas P. Villagomez could not be reached for comments.
In a letter to Senate President Paul A. Manglona, the three minority senators appealed to “extend” the participation of the minority leader, particularly during meetings and Senate functions.
Reyes said that under the current rules and procedures, he can sit as a member of “all important committee.”
He is also expecting to be included as member of the powerful Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee.
