AFTER THE FIASCO Lib-Day Committee to work with AGO

The Liberation Day Committee and the Attorney General’s Office will be working closely with the Legislature in preparing a legislation that will clarify the status and activities of the festival committee.

Members of the committee met with the AGO last Wednesday during which they discussed details of the fundraising activities. The committee is set to announce to the public the winners of the raffle next week.

Sonya Pangelinan, chair of the committee, said an audit is being prepared to show to the people how the funds were spent. The Liberation Day celebration was successfully carried out primarily from the generous donation of various companies on the island, she said.

“I hope that things would be finally settled to prevent this problem from happening again,” said Pangelinan.

The controversy in connection with the festivities stemmed from a legal opinion issued by the AGO which ruled that the fundraising activities of the Liberation Day Festival Committee are illegal.

According to Asst. Attorney General Alvin A. Horne, there is nothing in Section 71 of the Saipan Municipal Code that authorizes the 30-day event, much more a fundraising of any kind.

The Liberation Day Committee was created under Section 71 of the Saipan Municipal Code, which was based on Municipal Ordinance No. 86 passed in 1968.