Palacios insists no conflict of interest
Acting homestead chief Jesse Palacios dismissed claims yesterday that there was conflict of interest involved in the Marianas Public Lands Authority’s decision to hire him despite his association with a company that had been seeking a mining permit from the agency.
Hired two and a half weeks ago, Palacios maintained that PaganWatch group’s accusation of conflict of interest was baseless, as his line of work was completely different from the nature of Azmar International’s dealings with MPLA.
He noted that, as acting chief of MPLA’s Homestead Division, he would not be involved in reviewing—much less approving or denying—any mining permit or similar applications.
“I don’t see any conflict of interest. What they’re saying is false. I’m not a board member; all decisions coming from MPLA are through the board. So I don’t have any say on companies being awarded a mining permit, lease, or anything of that nature,” said Palacios, who previously served as insurance director at Commerce Department.
