IT is good to hear that the Department of Public Safety has saved $400,000 after Commissioner Edward Camacho reduced overtime pay. And not only that, according to Deputy Commissioner for Administration Franklin Babauta, DPS has also reduced its telephone bills and office supply expenses. But as expected, there are some people, obviously those affected by the OT cut, who have been silently making an issue out of it. An example is this person who informed us that DPS has deployed non-certified emergency medical technicians and those with no training in saving lives. The person also claimed that there is only one cop out on the streets every eight hours. But Police Lt. Pete C. Muna, the DPS spokesman, has denied these allegations.
A DPS insider disclosed to us that some people in the department have also been expressing their concerns to Gov. Juan N. Babauta and lawmakers regarding the new OT policy. These people, who call themselves “the unsung heroes,” say that the drastic reduction in OT pay is “not only unfair but also inappropriate.” They say that DPS doesn’t have sufficient manpower to accommodate the public safety needs of the people. The administrative section is perhaps the only office where there is enough or more than enough manpower, they said. They also said that the government has still not provided them the hazardous pay it has promised to them “time and time again.” The “unsung heroes” said OT is not an obligation of the government, but in the absence of hazard pay, they said that it has been their only source of “relief.” The group also claimed that with the exception of the attorney general and the acting finance secretary, most of the administration’s appointees do not meet the qualifications required for any exemptions from the salary ceiling.
The group said they have a commissioner who not only denies that there’s a shortage of manpower, but has made it very clear that he “is not afraid to lose any officers.” “Many of us have been exposed to highly traumatic incidents while on duty, yet the administration has never made an effort to provide us with some type of stress management workshops or activities on a regular basis,” a member of the group told us. The group is appealing to the governor to immediately re-assess their concerns. In the U.S. and even on Guam, police or law enforcement agencies provide hazardous pay to all their employees, the group said.
Any savings by the government particularly during a financial crisis should be welcomed by taxpayers—as long as vital public services are not hampered. It is obvious that public money has been wasted because of unnecessary expenditures by some government officials and politicians. It is during belt-tightening periods when we can see who the good managers are—those who make sound financial judgments without compromising vital services. However, it is also important to hear the grievances of these “unsung heroes.” The governor and DPS officials should meet this group and hear their concerns. The morale at DPS was already at its lowest even before the new administration took over. We can certainly imagine how low the morale is now considering the no-OT policy. CNMI officials should listen to the “unsung heroes” and find out if they’re just cry babies.
Working at poker arcades is perhaps the most dangerous thing to do nowadays. A long-time watchman of poker centers told us that besides robbers, dealing with addicted gamblers is also difficult. “Man, if you just see the faces of these gamblers when they leave the establishment—they look like four-of-a-kind grumpy jokers!”
