Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, stripped Santos, Ind.-Rota, of her chairmanship after she sided with the minority bloc during the budget bill deliberations.
Saipan Republican Rep. Joseph M. Palacion is the panel’s new chairman.
In an interview last week, Tenorio said Santos was also removed as member of the committee.
In an e-mail interview on Friday, Santos said he respects the speaker’s decision to remove her from the House leadership.
However, she said Tenorio does not have the authority to restrict her from participating in or attending committee meetings. All meetings, she said, are open to the general public pursuant to the Open Government Act.
“I was not elected to please the speaker, nor am I accountable to him. I was duly elected by the people of Rota, thus, I shall represent, protect, and defend what I believe is best for the people as I am accountable to them in this democracy,” Santos said.
She noted that her removal as chairwoman of committee was a result of her consistent position on the controversial budget bill.
Santos recalled that during the initial deliberations, she openly and clearly explained her position to the House leadership, some of whom, she added, respected her decision.
Santos said she refused to support “a bill that I saw as not in the best interest of the people.”
She said she eventually voted for the passage of the budget bill “to avoid further pain, suffering, agony and despair of the people” she represents.
Santos said “a title is only a title, while the people should be the central focus of a democracy.”
“I also trust in God, whose Word affirms: ‘All things work together for good to them who love God and are called according to His purpose.’ ”
Santos thanked all House Natural Resources Committee members for making her tenure productive and successful.
