‘House leadership solid’

House Rep. Ray Yumul yesterday flew to Hawaii for a three-week training for the Army Reserve, with the possibility that he could be deployed along with other CNMI reservists to Iraq or Afghanistan to augment U.S. troops.

If Yumul vacates his legislative post and joins the U.S. forces in the Middle East, the leadership-minority ratio at the House of Representatives will become 9-8, a volatile situation wherein defection of just one lawmaker to the minority will tilt the leadership to the latter.

This development comes in the heels of a report that the House leadership—composed of 10 lawmakers—nearly lost the support of one partymate, Rep. Janet U. Maratita.

House leadership spokesman Charles Reyes Jr. said the issue has been resolved and that the majority group remains intact. Reyes said Maratita was simply “understandably displeased” when the Committee on Natural Resources acted on a bill when she was off-island.

House Speaker Benigno Fitial confirmed that the leadership convened Friday about their unity and solidarity.

“When I assumed the office of the Speaker in January, I had two main priorities: to improve our economy and to restore trust and confidence in our government,” Fitial said. “None of these priorities could be realized without a sense of teamwork and unity in the Legislature.”

House minority leader Heinz Hofschneider said no communication is going on with Maratita regarding party affiliation.

“The House is known for being stable in the past years,” Hofschneider said. “What matters most is the independence of the individual to vote on the floor.”

Rep. Arnold Palacios, a minority congressman and member of the Natural Resources Committee, also said Maratita has not indicated to him the possibility of defecting to the minority.

With the leadership-minority ratio currently at 10-8, a defection by one majority lawmaker to the minority will result in equal numbers for both camps, with nine members each.

House legal counsel Joe Bermudes refused to comment on how such a scenario could affect leadership in the chamber. “We’ll wait until it happens.”

Yesterday, the leadership also disclosed that partymate Yumul flew to Hawaii to heed the call for training as a military reservist.

Reyes said Yumul is “excused” from the House’s activities for three weeks to allow him to attend the three-week training. He noted, however, the possibility that the military would eventually order Yumul and other CNMI reservists to augment American forces in the Middle East.

Reyes said Yumul left for the training despite meeting with the Speaker, whose preliminary findings suggested that the lawmaker could be exempt for deployment.

“He [Yumul] may be exempted from deployment as an elected official. But he can still go if he wants to,” Reyes said. “He expressed willingness to extend service overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan if necessary.”