THE Superior Court’s decision to dismiss the motion filed by Bank of Saipan to disqualify Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan from the receivership proceedings has reaffirmed the judiciary’s integrity, Attorney General Robert T. Torres said yesterday.
“(We) feel that the decision by the Superior Court to deny the motion for disqualification was appropriate and the court’s integrity remains intact,” Torres said.
Torres said the court has been diligent in handling the legal issues brought before them by both parties in the Bank of Saipan fiasco.
The government expects that the case pending in court will be resolved as “soon as possible,” Torres said.
He said the government supports the court’s effort to handle a “difficult case” that involves “complex issues and mercurial personalities.”
“The court has given us nothing less than a quality, thorough and well-reasoned decision. We have no reason to believe that the court would do anything less than that,” Torres said.
However, he said ongoing discussions on the bank’s rehabilitation are still at a “very preliminary” stage.
Pacific Nakon International’s claim on 53 percent of the bank’s stocks may further complicate the issue, Torres said.
Bank of Saipan, Inc., however, said the sale of the stocks was not consummated.
