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Mendiola: Politics behind my ouster
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Posted on Mar 02 2005
Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board member Martin T. Mendiola claimed yesterday that politics was behind a move to replace him as Rota representative to the CUC board of directors.
Mendiola said he never indicated that he wanted out of the CUC board despite his Feb. 18 confirmation as the Department of Commerce resident director for Rota. Neither did he get any formal notification that he was being replaced in his CUC post.
For this reason, he said he was very surprised yesterday when he read about Gov. Juan N. Babauta’s nomination Laura I. Manglona as his replacement.
“What have I done to cause the governor to think I’m not capable of fulfilling my duties at CUC. Have I been short of my fiduciary responsibility that [he felt] required…to nominate somebody else?” Mendiola said. “I really believe that the only reason they want me out of the board is the fact that I’m digging up a lot of bones in the closet. I will be presenting the media soon with evidence of these bones I’m talking about.”
During his brief stint at the CUC board, Mendiola has voiced numerous concerns about CUC operations on Rota.
At the Feb. 11 meeting alone, he raised issues regarding a certain power distribution policy and the utility firm’s continued failure to resolve the E. coli contamination of the island’s water system.
He also complained about CUC Rota deputy director Charles Manglona’s alleged lack of courtesy when he once tried to relay to Manglona a concern brought to his attention by a utility customer.
“While I appreciate his comment to me that I am not his boss, I represent the island and community of Rota on this board. I should be afforded the courtesy to directly communicate to him any concerns brought to my attention [by] residents, officials, or businesses especially when it involves a sick person and young students that need assistance,” Mendiola told CUC executive director Lorraine Babauta in a Feb. 17 letter.
Yesterday, Mendiola expressed belief that he has done a satisfactory job as CUC board member, even while he was serving as Commerce resident director for Rota.
He added that he intends to continue attending board meetings and functioning as a CUC board member “until they kick me out.”
