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Manglona: I did not plead for mercy • Senator says he’s innoncent on charges that he profited from the project
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Posted on Jun 07 1999
Breaking his silence, Sen. Herman M. Manglona on Friday said he did not ask mercy from his colleagues on the plan to squeeze him on paying the potential $4.5 million in penalty against the CNMI government under a land clearing dispute on Tinian.
Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez also backed up his claim, saying the upper house is just “taking a look at the merit of the resolution,” which would express its position that Manglona be held personally liable for the costs to be incurred by the government.
“I never asked for mercy. I never pleaded for mercy,” said Manglona, reacting to an earlier report on the Senate move.
Calling the paper “irresponsible,” the embattled senator from Tinian earlier had declined to comment when sought for the report. “It’s unfair. I hope you could be more professional,” he told this reporter when summoned for a meeting last Friday.
Manglona, however, claimed innocence on the charges of personally benefiting from the project which was undertaken in 1994 when he was still mayor of the island municipality.
Offered by Sen. David M. Cing, the resolution was ditched at the last minute during a Senate session last Thursday after Manglona pleaded against the move, according to sources.
The resolution stemmed from the lawsuit filed against Manglona in 1995 over the clearing project and other activities involving a piece of property owned by the U.S. government.
The civil case alleged several violations, including trespassing, damage to natural resources and environment as well as destruction of cultural, historical and archeological artifacts.
A consent decree, however, settled the suit, imposing a penalty estimated at $4.5 million to be paid by the Commonwealth government.
Although it has no force of effect, the resolution would assert belief by the Senate that Manglona should be liable for any payment to the federal government as the project did not benefit Tinian residents — a claim refuted by the senator.
