Senate confirms Soll, Manglona

Tinian — For the first time in six years, the CNMI government now has a permanent Attorney General after the Senate on Friday gave its advice and consent to recent appointee, former labor hearing officer Herb D. Soll.

Supreme Court also has its newest justice as former Associate Judge John A. Manglona expectedly received the confidence votes from the nine-member chamber, joining Chief Justice Miguel S. Demapan and Associate Justice Alexandro Castro.

Both nominees by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio were swiftly confirmed during a brief Senate session here which was held in the midst of the San Jose fiesta.

Mr. Soll, who was named as chief government lawyer last February after a court ruling forced former Acting Attorney General Maya B. Kara out of office, is the first to assume the post with the senators’ approval since 1994.

Former Attorney General Dick Weil, who served in the first year of then-Gov. Froilan C. Tenorio’s administration, was followed by a long succession of acting AGO chief due to Senate’s rejection of their nominations.

Mr. Soll, 63, said his confirmation shows “a sign of stability” for the government after nearly two years of uncertainties during the stint of Ms. Kara who was appointed in July 1998 and never confirmed by the Senate.

“I hope that I can back it up with a stable administration. I know I can’t certainly please everyone but there will be some hard decisions to make, but those [are decisions] we have to make,” he told reporters in an interview.

“I’m really humbled. I hope to perform to their expectation,” he added.

Swift process

The Senate Committee on Executive Appointments and Governmental Investigations, chaired by Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano, cut short a scheduled one-hour public hearing on his nomination when it was clear there was no opposition against Mr. Soll.

Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes even asked the panel just minutes into the hearing to congratulate him, saying that there was no reason to delay his confirmation because his record was “impeccable.”

All the people who testified at the town meeting held at the Tinian Court House expressed support for Mr. Soll, including his replacement as hearing officer at the Department of Labor and Immigration, Cinta Kaipat, and lawyer Perry Inos who both considered him as their “mentor” in the legal profession.

Now that he is legally holding the crucial post, Mr. Soll stressed there won’t be drastic changes at the AGO, although there will be constant review to enhance the operations of his office.

Among priority issues he expects to pursue are the skyrocketing gasoline prices in the CNMI as well as matters involving the Legislature. “I’m much busier than what I understood when I took this position. There’s a lot of challenge and lot of midnight oil that will have to be spent,” he said.

Mr. Soll retired from government service in December 1999, but his appointment pulled him out of retirement. He said the support thrown behind him makes his comeback “very worthwhile and satisfying.”

He served as the public defender of the Trust Territory government, the first judge of the CNMI Superior Court, a justice of the High Court of the Marshall Islands, deputy AG of the Commonwealth, and a DOLI hearing officer. A graduate of University of Denver, he got his bachelor’s degree in 1955 and his law degree in 1960.

New justice

Meanwhile, Justice Manglona’s confirmation completes the three-seat judicial body, almost 17 months after former Chief Justice Marty W.K. Taylor hang his robe in December 1998 to retire from government service.

“I’m very grateful. I hope to do my best… I will still continue to hold the public’s trust and full responsibility as Associate Justice,” he said after a separate public hearing was held by the EAGI.

Accompanied by his wife, Assistant Attorney General Mona Villagomez Manglona and their two children as well as other family members, the new Justice shook hands with senators, Supreme Court employees and other government officials when he got the Senate’s nod.

While he now moves from the Superior Court where he served for the past two years, Justice Manglona said he doesn’t see any differences with his former job with the latest as he still has to dispose cases fairly.

While eight senators approved his nomination, Senate President Paul A. Manglona, his older brother, abstained from the voting.

Justice Manglona, 40, also serves as special justice at Guam’s Supreme Court after he was appointed by Gov. Carl T. Gutierrez in May 1999.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1981; obtained his law degree three years later from Creighton University School of Law in Omaha, Nebraska; and later completed Master of Laws from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific in Sacramento,
California.

There is no word when the EAGI will tackle Justice Manglona’s replacement to the Superior Court, lawyer Eric Smith who was appointed at the same time last April 13.