Controversy hounds MVA appointment anew

A disgruntled applicant for the managing director slot at the Marianas Visitors Authority asked the MVA board yesterday to explain the basis and criteria used in the selection of Vicky Benavente, insisting that he is more qualified for the job.

In a letter to the MVA board of directors, James A. Santos said he strongly feels discriminated against and that he wants an explanation from the MVA on the criteria used to select Benavente over him for the post.

House Rep. Ray Yumul also backtracked from his support of Benavente, saying he was under the impression at first that she was the most qualified applicant and was selected on the basis of merit. New information he has received, however, prompted him to withdraw his support.

Both Santos and Yumul questioned Benavente’s educational qualifications, saying separately that they believe that she does not possess the requisite degree.

Benavente, who was MVA’s deputy managing director before being named to the top post, was appointed to the position last week.

Santos indicated in his letter that he had received a notice from the MVA informing him that another candidate’s qualifications “more closely match” the agency’s requirements for the position. It was only through the local papers, however, that he found out about Benavente’s selection.

He pointed out that, based on MVA’s Job Vacancy Announcement, it was specifically required that one of the minimum qualification requirements for the candidate is graduation from a recognized college or university. Santos said he believes that Benavente does not meet this requirement.

“As you know from the copies of supporting documents I submitted along with my employment application, I have an undergraduate degree in International Trade & Finance. I also attended the Executive Development Institute for Tourism, a month-long intensive workshop at the University of Hawaii specifically geared toward executives working in the tourism and travel industry to which I also know that Mrs. Benavente did not attend. Based on these criteria, I feel I am a more qualified applicant for the position,” he said.

Further, Santos said he has a degree in Business Administration, which prepared him to efficiently organize and run a company’s human resource and other factors of production, marketing and sales, finance and accounting, and the overall management and operation of a company or organization. For these reasons, Santos said that he feels he is more qualified than Benavente.

Yumul, who had earlier expressed support for Benavente’s appointment, withdraw that support yesterday, saying that, based on new information he has received, he no longer supports her appointment as MVA managing director.

“It has come to my attention that Mrs. Benavente may not have a college degree and that at least one other applicant, economist James Santos of the Commerce Department, holds a master’s degree in business administration and has at least five years experience working for MVA,” said the congressman.

Yumul, who had previously applied for the MVA managing director position, had been rejected in favor of Jonas Ogren, the previous managing director, who was deemed to be more qualified, in part because of his Ivy League academic background. Ogren graduated from Cornell University, while Yumul received his bachelor’s degree from National University in San Diego.

Yumul stressed that his concerns should in no way be interpreted to disparage Benavente, whom he had previously praised for her experience at MVA. He insisted though, that his concern is purely from his desire for MVA to strictly adhere to a merit- based hiring system that is objective, non-political, and entirely consistent with the stated regulations.

“What is at issue here is not Mrs. Benavente but the credibility of an MVA board that may not strictly adhere to its own stated policies that are supposed to be merit-based,” he added.

Yumul said the MVA board should hire the most qualified local applicant.

After initially endorsing Benavente’s appointment, the congressman received a call from an MVA managing director applicant who contrasted his educational background and experience to that of the current managing director.

Santos also raised questions about MVA’s hiring practices, which have long been a concern of Yumul, who now chairs the House Commerce and Tourism Committee.