PAO finds no inconsistency in reports on COVID expenses, reimbursements

Public Assistance Office officer Patrick Guerrero has found no inconsistency in the reports made by Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP), Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, and the U.S. Government Accountability Office regarding the CNMI’s COVID-19 response expenses and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s reimbursements for pandemic expenses.

Guerrero, who is also the Governor’s Authorized Representative, informed Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) in a letter dated Nov. 15, 2023, that he believes background information or clarification are necessary to understand the reported figures.

In an Open Government Act request last Oct. 30, DeLeon Guerrero asked Guerrero for information regarding the CNMI’s COVID-19 expenses from 2020 to 2023 and FEMA reimbursements for COVID expenses.

In PAO’s response, Guerrero said Sablan’s reports on both occasions in August 2023 for the $9.8 million in obligations and October 2023 for the $21.4 million are confirmed amounts awarded to the CNMI.

The PAO officer said Palacios’ announcement in October 2023 is also accurate when his office disclosed receiving $22.1 million—the $21.4 million reported by Sablan and close to $700,000 that was awarded around the same time but not reported by Sablan.

He said it’s not $21.1 million as DeLeon Guerrero stated in her letter.

DeLeon Guerrero said that Palacios also stated that over the last 10 months (January 2023 through October 2023) the CNMI received approximately $36 million in reimbursements, bringing the total amount obligated to the PAO grants to $98.1 million for the COVID pandemic that began in January 2020.

As for the GAO report released in September 2023, Guerrero said, it is also accurate that the time the information was gathered in May 2023, there were approximately $58 million in expenses submitted to FEMA for cost and eligibility reviews.

He said since June 2023, the CNMI has received $34.9 million of the reported $36 million that was obligated in that 10-month period, which would translate to a remaining potential reimbursement of around $23 million.

However, since May of 2023, additional applications and submitted costs by eligible applicants is now estimated at $30 million, Guerrero said.

He said these amounts could fluctuate often and are not final.

The director said the project application period for all costs associated with the COVID response is currently being extended to February 2024 and therefore, the costs may increase as more submissions are received by their office.

Guerrero also responded to the Senate president’s other requests for information regarding COVID-19 expenses and reimbursement.