Flores: AG sans subpoena powers is embarrassing

Having an elected attorney general that has no power to issue a subpoena is a disgrace and embarrassing, according to Rep. Marissa Renee Flores (Ind-Saipan) said yesterday.

To remedy this situation, Flores urged the public to support her stand and demand that her legislation, House Bill 23-22, which seeks to grant the attorney general this power, be taken out of the Senate committee and put on the floor for voting.

“Because we will see now who is for corruption and who isn’t. Whether it dies, that’s up to them [senators]. But at least the people will know if it’s on the floor and it’s voted on,” she said during yesterday’s House of Representatives session.

House Bill 23-22 seeks to create an investigative division within the Office of the Attorney General, codify investigative subpoena power, and improve the investigation of cases involving public corruption.

Flores introduced the bill last March 9; it was then referred to the House Judiciary and Governmental Operations Committee, which later recommended the legislation’s passage.

Last March 10, the House passed the bill. The bill is now with the Senate Judiciary, Government and Law Committee chaired by Sen. Celina R. Babauta (D-Saipan).

Flores said yesterday that there’s a section in the bill that talks about investigative subpoena power. She said the bill allows the attorney general to act quickly in responding to complaints regarding criminal matters, but especially those involving misconduct in public office and public officials.

Flores said she wants to see who among the nine senators are going to approve this bill because this legislation, according to her, is crucial to the fight against corruption.

“We talk about fighting corruption. But yeah, we don’t want to address the elephant in the room. The AG has no subpoena power,” she said.

Flores said the bill was supported by several of her colleagues in the House and there was a committee report.

“We didn’t pass this on first and final [reading]. The committee report was handed, it was passed,” said she, adding that the bill has been sitting in the Senate committee since March.

Flores said an attorney general without subpoena powers is unheard of.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I think that is a disgrace. And I think that is embarrassing. Because we sit here talking about public corruption and all of this and yet, for the longest time, we never knew that the Office of Attorney General never had subpoena powers,” she said.