Froilan says AGO afraid of confrontation with judge • Ex-gov washed hands off the 'acid-toned' motion for reconsideration By MAR-VIC CAGURANGAN
Former Governor Froilan C. Tenorio insisted Friday that the Attorney General’s Office take the responsibility of arguing its own motion for reconsideration which seeks the reversal of Special Judge Benjamin Cruz’s 1997 ruling on the $12.4 million lawsuit alleging public fund misuse.
The ex-governor said the AGO, which refuses to defend him in the case, is only making excuses “so it can avoid” confrontation with Cruz.
Cruz’s ruling declared Tenorio liable for misuse of the 1994 public fund appropriations when he was governor.
Tenorio described as “acid-toned” the motion for reconsideration filed by the AGO two weeks after Cruz issued the decision on June 10, 1997.
The motion was a mixture of “legal arguments with rhetoric and vituperative comments regarding the court’s decision,” Tenorio added.
Washing his hands off the AGO’s motion, Tenorio said he “never approved the excessive rhetoric in the brief.”
The AGO has twice notified the court that it would end its representation of Tenorio, citing conflict of interests.
“I am very concerned that the AGO intentionally created this perceived conflicts so that it could avoid defending me in this action and so it can avoid having to appear before Honorable Judge Benjamin Cruz to argue the acid-toned motion for reconsideration that AGO filed with the Court,” Tenorio said.
“The AGO has never identified or stated with any specificity the nature of its alleged conflict of interests,” the former governor said.
Maintaining that he is entitled to government representation, Tenorio asked the Superior Court to stop the AGO from withdrawing as his counsel.
“The AGO should be required to argue the motion for reconsideration and other pending motions in this matter,” Tenorio said. He is represented by lawyer Timothy Skinner in the government legal representation issue.
In a notice dated Oct. 7, the AGO informed the court that Tenorio “wished to substitute a new counsel as quickly as possible.”
In response to the government’s pleadings, Tenorio said he never sought the AGO’s withdrawal from the case, and that he never informed AGO that he wanted to substitute new counsel.
“[I]n fact,” he added, “the AGO was trying to terminate the relationship.”
Tenorio said the only reason given him by government lawyers for refusing to handle his case was that Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio “feared his administration would be blamed if the AGO lost the case.”
“Further, the governor made it clear that the CNMI government was not going to pay for my private legal representation,” the former governor added.
Tenorio said he would be “severely prejudiced” if the AGO abandoned him. He said the “financial constraints make it difficult for [him] to find representation because of the complex and labor intensive demands of a case of this magnitude.”
The lawsuit was filed by Jeanne Rayphand, who was represented by lawyer Ted Mitchell.
