THE Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations conducted a public hearing on Wednesday morning for the governor’s nominee to the Commonwealth Election Commission board, Remedio Reyes Sablan, to represent the third senatorial district.
Testifying under oath, Sablan said she is related to CEC Executive Director Kayla S. Igitol, who is her first cousin’s granddaughter.
“However, please be assured that I will fulfill my role honestly and fairly as I intend to continue to uphold my good name and my integrity as a public servant,” said Sablan.
Although Igitol and CEC board chair Jesus I. Sablan said there was an urgency to confirm the nominee, a community member opposed the nomination, saying that the election is over and the board has seven members, two more than what is needed to have a quorum and conduct a meeting.
“What’s the urgency? Nothing,” said Felipe Q. Atalig, a member of the Palacios-Apatang transition team. “Witnesses have failed to justify the urgency and need to confirm this nominee… There’s no more election. They have a quorum.”
But according to election board chair Sablan, of the seven election commissioners, one is in the Philippines for medical referral, one is on Guam for a funeral, and another is “urgently needed for another meeting.”
“There’s an urgent need for [Remedio] Sablan to be confirmed before Friday. We tried to call a meeting on Thursday to take care of the rest of the provisional ballots, but unfortunately, we did not have a quorum, so we set it for Friday. I’m still worried that come Friday, we still will not have a quorum. There are only five of us available. One is urgently needed at another meeting, but we’re trying to get him to see if he can reschedule that meeting so that we can take care of the certification of the runoff election, so…I request [the senators] to immediately confirm her, if not today, then before Friday,” he said.
“I’m hoping that we will have a quorum… If we don’t get him on board, it would be nice to have Ms. Sablan so that we can have that quorum just in case. If that doesn’t happen, then we’ll just have to reschedule it to another day where we can have quorum… We need to have a quorum in order for us to conduct a meeting… We need her on board just in case the board member cannot make it. Otherwise, we’ll have to reschedule for another day.”
Chair Sablan said the nominee is “a very intelligent person, and I know for a fact that she will do a good job, along with the rest of the board members.”
Sen. Victor B. Hocog, for his part, said, “Despite the statement made by one opposing public comment, it is not this committee’s responsibility to appoint, but this committee’s responsibility is to act on any appointment from the governor to ensure that the needed members on any board or commission are satisfied. Whether there’s a need or no need, at the urgency, as was stated, it is incumbent on this committee’s duties and responsibilities to act on the nomination.”
He added, “It is unnecessary for that public comment to [say it is a] lame duck appointment. Yes, today all of us that are not coming back to office, yes, we are lame ducks, but our duties and responsibilities continue until the day we will be exiting this capacity of being a senator [so we will continue to] act accordingly [as required by the] duties and responsibilities of this committee,” he added.
Senate Floor Leader Vinson F. Sablan recommended that the CEC look into allowing its members to attend a meeting virtually as is now allowed by Public Law 22-5, which he authored.
“This may be something that could be beneficial to the board…to promulgate these regulations…in case…[some] CEC…members [are] off-island and not able to participate,” he added.
To the nominee, he said, “I have full confidence in your capabilities to be part of the commission and to make the improvements where improvements need to be made, and I look forward to the work that you will provide on the commission.”
Other Senate committee members present for the public hearing were Chairman Francisco Q. Cruz and Sen. Karl King-Nabors.
There are currently two vacancies on the CEC board, both for the third senatorial district. The other commissioners are Esther Yatar, Dorisann Aldan-Atalig, Lelanie I. Manglona, Christopher Jonathan Manglona, John Diego Attao, and Jesus Cepeda.
Remedio R. Sablan is a graduate of Cannon’s International Business College in Honolulu, Hawaii, and has administrative and management experience. She is a former administrator for the protection advocacy program under Karidat Social Services where she administered three federally funded programs, developmental disabilities and client assistance programs, and protection and advocacy for mental health.
She is a former special assistant for the Women’s Affairs Office under Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio from 1994 to 1998. From 1998 to 1999, she served as legislative assistant for Rep. Max “Timmo” Olopai.
She has served as the first executive director of the CNMI Bar Association from 2000 to 2002 before leaving for Salem, Oregon where she worked as co-manager of Hidden Lakes, a retirement community, for four years.
Upon her return to Saipan in 2006, she worked as administrative officer for the AmeriCorps program under the CNMI Public School System until her retirement in 2010. She has also served as a poll worker/supervisor in several CNMI general elections.
“I am very grateful of the nomination, and I would be most honored to be given the opportunity to serve as a member of the election commission. I look forward to serving alongside the current esteemed board members of the election commission and to be of service to the executive director and staff of the [CEC],” she said.
Remedio Reyes Sablan, who has been nominated to the Commonwealth Election Commission, is sworn in during a public hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Government Investigations on Wednesday.
