Waki turns down CPA board nomination

Citing professional obligations at his new job, former congressman Absalon Waki Jr. on Thursday declined Gov. Benigno Fitial’s nomination to the board of the Commonwealth Ports Authority.

Waki’s decision to turn down the nomination, offered earlier this month, comes after Rep. Stanley Torres (R-Saipan) in a letter last week criticized the governor’s selection of him for the board, pointing to potential conflicts of interest given Waki’s position as advertising sales manager of the Saipan Tribune, a subsidiary of the Tan Holdings Corp., which also owns Pacific Orient Inc., a company that has service contracts at the local airport. For the same reasons, Torres in the letter faulted the nomination of Frank B. Camacho, manager of POI before cursing at the governor in Chamorro.

However, Waki said his decision is unrelated to Torres’ letter, saying his new job at the newspaper requires his full attention.

“It’s about priorities,” Waki said. “My first priority right now has to be this job and my obligations here.”

In his letter to the governor, Waki—once a Covenant Party congressman for precinct 3—said much the same, thanking him for the nomination but declining it because of his new advertising position.

“I have just recently started working for the Saipan Tribune as its advertising sales manager and believe that I must first give this company my full attention and undivided effort,” he said.

Reacting to the news, the governor’s spokesman, Charles Reyes, said the administration must plan a new nomination but stopped short of suggesting who that could be.

“We completely understand Waki’s decision.” Reyes said. “He wants to focus on his career now and we accept that. We’ll just have to make another nomination. At this point, we’re also waiting on the Senate to make a decision on the other nominees.”

Torres welcomed Waki’s move.

“It’s a good thing he declined because I don’t think they would have confirmed him in the Senate,” he said.

The Fitial administration dissolved the CPA board this year after the agency nearly defaulted on a $20 million airport revenue bond. In an executive order, the governor later seized control of CPA and the airport, declaring a “state of emergency” that has since remained in place.

The Senate last week voted unanimously to confirm former Tinian senator Manuel Villagomez as a board appointee. Villagomez joins former CPA chairman Joe Lifoifoi, who was asked to rescind his May 16 resignation and stay on the board. The remaining nominees yet to be confirmed are Camacho, Miriam Seman, and Barry Toves.