WITH Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios both off-island, Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider is acting governor.
Torres will be off-island until Friday, June 24, and has advised all departments and agencies to ensure that all actions, documents, and correspondences during this time “reflect this assumption of authority.”
According to the Office of the Governor Strategic Communications Coordinator Brianna Hunter on Tuesday, Torres is off-island for personal matters.
For his part, Palacios has been discharged from the intensive care unit at the Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has been released to a primary care physician for outpatient care, weeks after experiencing pain in his lower back while testifying in Superior Court on May 31, 2022.
Article 3, Section 8 of the CNMI Constitution states that if the governor and the lt. governor are absent or otherwise unavailable, the presiding officer of the Senate shall be acting governor.
Rule 2, Section 3 of the Official Rules of the Senate states that in the event that the Senate president is serving as acting governor, the Senate vice president — in this case, Justo S. Quitugua — shall automatically serve as the acting Senate president.
Jude Hofschneider
