Flashback July 17, 2000-2002

[B]July 17, 2000

House wants Teno to hire lobbyists[/B]

The House of Representatives has initiated steps to prod Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to use his spending power in order to seek funding for a lobbying campaign in the U.S. Congress against legislation affecting the CNMI. A joint resolution calling immediate hiring of a lobbyist was adopted during a special session last Friday which now heads to the Senate for a similar action.

[B]PSS seeks funding for school opening[/B]

The Public School System has requested Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for additional resources for School Year 2000-2001 to help the agency hire some 76 full-time equivalents needed for the public education sector. Dr. Rita H. Inos, commissioner of education, is seeking some $640,000 in supplemental budget for personnel allotments to enable PSS meet the teacher and staff requirement of the new Kagman Elementary School.

[B]Filipinos honored for rescuing drowning man[/B]

For five Filipino workers, what they did one weekend afternoon in Marine Beach in Kagman was nothing more than simply saving another man from drowning. Little did Rogelio Deducin, Manolito Sityar, Ariel Narvaez, Celerino Calayag and Leo Abadan, all employees of Spectrum Electric Inc., knew that their heroic act would give them recognition from both Philippine and CNMI governments.

[B]July 17, 2001

CNMI warned: Deeper crisis in 2004[/B]

The Strategic Economic Development Council has sounded the alarm against further collapse of the CNMI economy, which is anticipated to happen between now and the year 2004. This, as SEDC-Destination Enhancement Committee Chair Marian Aldan-Pierce urged government officials and business leaders to “work together to alleviate a disaster just waiting to happen.” She warned that over a thousand government employees will be out of job if the SEDC’s recommendations, submitted to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in December 2000, were not implemented.

[B]’…but not going bananas'[/B]

Stung by news reports that the Commonwealth economy is going down the drain, the Tenorio administration has issued a statement saying that, through admittedly not rosy, the overall economic picture is not that bad. “Recent media stories relating to the CNMI government finances, economy and employment contained incomplete and highly inaccurate information. This statement is presented to clarify the CNMI’s current financial status,” said Press Secretary Frank S. Rosario of the Public Information and Protocol Office.

[B]Rundown treatment plant endangers Saipan waters[/B]

The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation is now beset by a question on whether the damage in the Agingan Point Wastewater Treatment Facility, where millions of gallons of human wastes converge daily, has been causing pollution to CNMI waters just a few meters away from the facility. Worse, the damage in an essential mechanical part of the treatment plant has been incurred since last year.

[B]July 17, 2002

House relents on $213M budget[/B]

The House of Representatives has relented and agreed to the $213-million budget proposal submitted by the Office of the Governor, subject to certain conditions. House Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider said Tuesday that, after a previous day meeting with Executive Branch officials and Senate Vice President Jose Dela Cruz, the lower chamber agreed to Gov. Juan N. Babauta’s submission level of $213 million, provided that it be accompanied by three revenue-generating measures.

[B]’Joint meeting to speed up budget passage'[/B]

Echoing an earlier recommendation by Senate Vice President Jose Dela Cruz, Senate President Paul A. Manglona said a sort of conference committee meeting between the two legislative chambers would go a long way in speeding up the passage of the $213 million budget for Fiscal Year 2003. Although a conference committee meeting is usually called when both chambers are deadlocked on a pending legislation, Manglona said that an exception should be made on this case to break the three-year jinx that has hounded the budget process.