DPS: Work to rebuild trust continues
The license fraud scheme that was uncovered at the Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles has severely damaged DPS’ relationship with the public, but DPS Commissioner Clement Bermudes says the department is working hard to reclaim that trust.
Bermudes said the conspiracy involving former director Juana Leon Guerrero and other BMV staff caused the public to lose trust in the department, but the department continues to work on building that trust back up.
“We are rebuilding the trust with our community,” he said.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramon V. Manglona sentenced Leon Guerrero to five years imprisonment for her involvement in a scheme to provide undocumented individuals CNMI licenses—for a fee.
Bermudes said the root of this scheme was not properly cross-referencing people’s immigration statuses to determine who are or are not supposed to have driver’s licenses. With DPS chief Paul T. Ogumoro now serving as acting BMV director, Bermudes said there will no longer be any exemptions to this.
“I have placed an acting director there since the former director left the department. One of the things he has instituted is systems to ensure that everyone obtaining a license is properly documented. There is no longer an exemption to that. That’s one way we have addressed some of those concerns: ensuring we get proper documentation and I’m very confident with Chief Paul Ogumoro as the acting director at BMV,” he said.
Bermudes said there is a large population of foreign workers who hold CW-1 visas who obtain licenses. Previously, they needed only to show a CW-1 receipt to obtain a license. However, with new systems in place, DPS will be verifying the validity of these receipts to ensure these individuals really do have pending CW-1 visa applications. Even then, CW-1 visa holders will only be issued temporary CNMI-only licenses that will be valid for just one year.
“We have CW-1 workers who have pending applications with USCIS and they may have families here and may be the only driver in a family. That was our concern. We have allowed and authorized those who have pending validated cases [to] be issued a temporary, CNMI-only driver’s license which will be valid for up to one year,” he said.
“We can’t penalize people because they’re waiting for an application and, at the same time, we can’t have them put on hold family business like driving kids to school, going grocery shopping, [or] driving family members to work. That’s what we’re realizing here for our CW-1 community and, more importantly, the community at large,” Bermudes added.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, Leon Guerrero conspired with her co-defendant, Li Yongde, also known as Ivan, from about Sept. 1, 2021, through about Oct. 31, 2022, to unlawfully produce a CNMI driver’s license.
The indictment against Deleon Guerrero came after a raid the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted on the bureau.
Clement Bermudes
