‘Rota lawmakers did not allocate fund for nurses’ salaries’

While the fiscal year 2011 budget law appropriated $6.256 million for Rota, the four-member Rota Legislative Delegation did not reallocate within the municipality’s appropriation level funds for the Rota Health Center that would have been used to pay for some of the nurses’ salaries.

Section 705(c) of Public Law 17-21—the fiscal year 2011 budget law—appropriated $340,000 from Rota’s budget to pay for professional services for nurses, technicians, and other medical and auxiliary professionals as needed, including one mental health counselor for $33,000.

Shortly after Gov. Benigno R. Fitial signed PL 17-21, the Rota Legislative Delegation adopted a resolution allocating funds appropriated for Rota by the CNMI budget law.

But the resolution did not include the following: Section 705(c) for the Rota Health Center amounting to $373,000; Section 705(d) for the Department of Public Safety’s cadets amounting to $107,780; and Section 705(e) for the hiring of a dentist amounting to $77,200.

Vicky Villagomez, special assistant for management and budget, wrote to Rota Legislative Delegation chair Sen. Juan Ayuyu (Ind-Rota) on Oct. 25 to point this out. Villagomez wanted to seek clarification from the Rota delegation if this was overlooked.

But Sen. Ayuyu, in his response a day later, said Rota Legislative Delegation Resolution 17-12 stipulated the three provisions listed in PL 17-21 but did not allocate the same provisions in the appropriations for Rota.

“This is because the current appropriation of the First Senatorial District is insufficient to fund the provisions of Section 705(c) to (e) of Public Law 17-21 due to the significant budget cut by the House of Representatives,” the senator told Villagomez.

But Ayuyu said the Legislature intends to fund these provisions when supplemental funding is available for appropriation.

“Therefore, please set aside the said provisions at this time. Accordingly, please follow the allocation of funds appropriated to the First Senatorial District pursuant to RLD Resolution No. 17-12,” Ayuyu told Villagomez.

Copies of these letters from Villagomez and Ayuyu were obtained only yesterday.

Because of this, no money was allocated to help pay for the Rota Health Center nurses hired from the private manpower firm, Saipan Employment Agency and Services.

Sen. Ayuyu, when asked to comment yesterday, said the delegation will have an emergency meeting today to tackle the unpaid salaries of SEAS nurses at the Rota Health Center.

Ayuyu earlier said the delegation would like to know whether funds that should have been appropriated for the Rota Health Center for it to be able to pay the SEAS nurses were reprogrammed for other purposes.

But Rota Health Center resident director Crispin M. Ayuyu said yesterday, “knowing full well that the Rota Legislative Delegation did not allocate funds for the above cited sections, reprogramming from the unallocated funds is zero.”

“Worst yet, one cannot reprogram fund from a non-existing account with zero amount to any other account,” Crispin Ayuyu said.

He said he wanted to “clear up any frivolous attempt to investigate and audit the status of alleged allocation of fund,” adding that what he needs to be audited are three of Rota Health Center’s specific accounts for fiscal year 2011.

These include accounts 1912, 1957, and 1989, which were for Public Health, Environmental Health, and Dental Health.

He also said this in a July 5 letter to Finance Secretary Larrisa Larson.

Larson, in a separate interview yesterday, said Finance is looking into the matter.

RHC director Ayuyu also said yesterday that his June 15 letter to Rota Mayor Melchor Mendiola has not been answered as of yesterday.

On June 15, he asked the Rota mayor for his concurrence to pay for professional services at the Rota Health Center “which is long overdue,” but no funds were available.

“My research of the RHC budget revealed lapsed funds from previous months which may be used for this purpose is unquestionably available,” he told the mayor.

He said yesterday that each of the three accounts is allotted an amount and available for expenditure.

“Lapsed fund may become available when an employee exited his/her employment. It is this lapsed fund amount that this office is requesting for reprogramming action to pay for professional services,” director Ayuyu said.

Sen. Ayuyu earlier said the delegation will be asking the Office of the Public Auditor, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Department of Finance to review or audit alleged illegal reprogramming of funds intended for the Rota Health Center, which has yet to pay some of its nurses’ salaries for at least four pay periods.

Rota Health Center reportedly owes SEAS some $100,000 as payment of wages for services that five nurses and one medical laboratory technician have been providing to the government center.