Figures do not lie, but liars figure

The story in the Saipan Tribune on June 20, 2005 stated that “official documents showed that Gov. Juan N. Babauta spent a total of $90,389.99 in 41 trips as reflected in 109 travel authorizations covering the period from September 2003 to May 2005. The story did not state how much the governor’s office expended from the time Babauta became governor in January 2002 until September 2003.

Approximately two days after the above story ran, another story was published that stated, “the Executive Branch (Saipan) spent $1.4 million in FY 2005 and $2.7 million in FY 2004. The total amount expended on travels for these two fiscal years by the Governor’s Office, according to the figures stated in the story, was $4.1 million.

What is interesting to note is that there were no figures for travel reflecting FY 2002, which commenced on Oct. 1, 2001, several months prior to Babauta taking the oath to be governor in January 2002.

So just how much was spent on travel from the time Babauta took office in January 2002 until the end of FY 2002 which ended on Sept. 30, 2002? And from the beginning of FY 2003, which began on October 1, 2002, until the last day of it on Sept. 30, 2003, what was the actual amount expended for travel by Babauta?

The fiscal discrepancy between the story that ran on June 20 indicating only $90,389.99 and the story that ran on June 22 indicating $4.1 million is approximately $4, 009,610. The rather large differential in itself would make any reasonable individual suspect.

If the travel expenses for the governor from the time he took oath in January 2002 up to September 2003 reflect $2 million or more, then the estimated projection that the governor has already spent in excess of $6 million over a three and one-half year timeframe is clearly not hearsay and a reflection of the truth.

If the travel expenditures for Babauta that range from $4.1 to $ 6 million from January 2002 up to the present are “bogus” and do not reflect the truth, then I ask that the governor and his Finance Secretary publicly to step forward and substantiate to the electorate just how and why the figures obtained for the June 22 story are categorically inaccurate. The electorate deserves to be given the “truth” about how their tax dollars are being spent on travel and anything short of that would definitely be considered “pretty darn bad.”

Dr. Jesus D. Camacho
Delano, California