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Speaker asks Palacios to remain committee chairman
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Posted on Jun 07 2011
House Speaker Eli Cabrera (R-Saipan) did not accept Rep. Joseph Palacios’s (R-Saipan) resignation as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and asked him yesterday to remain with the leadership.
Palacios gave in to the speaker’s request and will be staying on as committee chairman, a day after submitting his resignation letter out of “frustration” and “disappointment” with some members of the House leadership.
Cabrera met with members of the House leadership yesterday to talk about Palacios’ concerns.
He and Palacios said members admitted that they have been overwhelmed with other professional and personal responsibilities, which sometimes result in their inability to review bills assigned by the speaker to the Natural Resources Committee and other panels.
Palacios said some members have been uncooperative and not been upfront with their concerns on bills until they are taken up on the floor. He said members have also been voting against committee reports and bills that have long been assigned to the committee, which he has been heading since October.
The speaker said they will make it a point to have a regular leadership meeting to check on the progress of each committee or leadership member’s work.
Former speaker and now Rep. Froilan Tenorio (Cov-Saipan) appointed Palacios as committee chairman on Oct. 18, 2010, replacing Rep. Teresita Santos (Ind-Rota) who was removed from her post for voting along with the minority and not the majority.
Cabrera said yesterday he hopes that from now on, members will be more cooperative and understanding of each other’s concerns.
