Today marks the first year since former governor Benigno R. Fitial resigned, yet historian Don Farrell believes that Fitial\u2019s \u201crise and fall\u201d will have \u201ca lasting effect on CNMI politics and government\u201d for generations to come.<\/p>\n
Farrell said he did not expect Fitial to step down on Feb. 20, 2013, in the face of impeachment. Fitial resigned just days before the start of his impeachment trial at the Senate on charges of corruption, felony, and neglect of duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what I had seen of him during his political career, I expected him to fight it out. I was impressed when he graciously handed his letter of resignation to his longtime friend and colleague Eloy Inos, then quietly walked away,\u201d Farrell told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Fitial\u2019s resignation exactly a year ago today paved the way for then lieutenant governor Inos to become the new governor in a leadership change like no other in the history of the CNMI or any other U.S. territory.<\/p>\n
Inos, also a former Finance secretary, is currently in Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings and won\u2019t be back until Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Farrell said the event of a year ago \u201cwill be remembered long into the future by both sitting as well as aspiring politicians.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere was a charismatic, indigenous Carolinian who was born immediately after World War II, graduated from Mt. Carmel, earned a degree in Business Management from UOG [University of Guam], then returned to Saipan to serve his people,\u201d Farrell said, as he narrated Fitial\u2019s rise to power.<\/p>\n
Fitial was elected to the 1st CNMI Constitution Convention, became chief administrative officer of the 1st NMI Legislature and was then elected to the CNMI House of Representatives in the 2nd Legislature, becoming its speaker during the 3rd, 12th and 14th NMI Legislatures, Farrell said.<\/p>\n
The former governor also founded the Covenant Party in 2001, was elected governor of the CNMI under his own banner in 2005, then masterminded his re-election in 2009, the historian added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a remarkable political record that brought pride to the Carolinian community of Saipan. This is why the rise and fall of Benigno Fitial will have a lasting effect on CNMI politics and government,\u201d Farrell said.<\/p>\n
In 2012, a minority group in the House of Representatives led by now Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero (Ind-Saipan) introduced a historic impeachment resolution that was easily thumbed down by Fitial\u2019s allies in the House leadership back then.<\/p>\n
Members of the public, which private citizen Glen Hunter described yesterday as the once \u201csilent majority,\u201d made their voices heard through pro-Fitial impeachment rallies and through the ballot.<\/p>\n
Voters in the 2012 elections almost wiped out all incumbents and would-be politicians aligned with Fitial, handing the House leadership to pro-impeachment lawmakers. Deleon Guerrero and others introduced another impeachment resolution that this time around succeeded in impeaching Fitial and moving the process to the Senate in February 2013.<\/p>\n
Farrell said the impeachment was a people\u2019s movement that garnered the support of legislative leaders \u201cwho had the courage to stand up for what is right.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDespite all the good things that Governor Fitial may have done during his rise to power, it was not enough to absolve him of the perception of wrongdoing that pervaded his authoritarian style of governing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Farrell likened Fitial\u2019s resignation to that of former U.S. president Richard Nixon, among other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis resignation, just like the resignation of former U.S. President Richard Nixon and the conviction of Guam governor Ricardo J. Bordallo, brought disgrace on his people and the Commonwealth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fitial\u2019s impeachment, resignation, and replacement by his former lieutenant governor are covered in the last chapter of Farrell\u2019s new NMI history book.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo not report it would be an error of omission,\u201d the historian and longtime Tinian resident said.<\/p>\n
Criminal charges, however, were filed against Fitial for matters related to the impeachment charges.<\/p>\n
Former representative and former KSPN2 reporter Tina Sablan said that Fitial, like other former public officials implicated in conspiracies with former attorney general Edward Taylor Buckingham III who was convicted and sentenced yesterday, has yet to be brought to justice. Buckingham was found guilty of seven of eight charges also related to the charges against Fitial, on the eve of the anniversary of Fitial\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n
Sablan said Fitial remains at large and must be brought back to the CNMI to face charges.<\/p>\n
Fitial is in the Philippines, his wife\u2019s home country.<\/p>\n
Lessons learned<\/strong><\/p>\n Farrell said some might say that the best lesson learned from Fitial\u2019s resignation is the old adage that \u201cPower corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n Others, he said, will say simply that \u201cNo man is above the law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I hope it means that all government and political leaders will remember that it means \u2018The people are watching,\u2019\u201d Farrell said.<\/p>\n As to the Inos administration since Feb. 20, 2013, Farrell said \u201cGovernor Inos has done a commendable job of \u2018taking the bull by the horns,\u2019 to use another old saying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe stepped into the Retirement Fund debate and came out with a resolution, perhaps not what everyone wanted but at least a salvation for those who feared the worst,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Farrell added that it appears the emergency declaration for the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., initially set in 2008, may finally be lifted now that there will be a full quorum for a functional board.<\/p>\n But Inos, according to Farrell, still faces the difficult questions regarding a long-term solution to CNMI energy problems and adequate funding for the hospital.<\/p>\n \u201cNevertheless, Governor Inos appears to be returning power to the people. Of course, the real judge of his performance will be \u2018The people\u2019 when they vote this November,\u201d Farrell added.<\/p>\n Inos announced that he is running for governor in November, along with Senate President Ralph Torres (R-Saipan) under the Republican Party, the same party that Fitial helped found and led before forming the Covenant Party and then leaving it only to return to the GOP.<\/p>\n Inos\u2019 Republican Party, however, still has many of the elected officials, other government officials and private citizens that used to not only align themselves with Fitial but also defended the former governor as the impeachment process against him was raging on.<\/p>\n But, as Hunter said yesterday, the CNMI community has discovered that they had nothing to fear as they \u201cstood up against those who violated our public trust and with the help of others in positions of power, we were able to hold abusive officials accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Hunter said for years, there was an overwhelming sense of fear in the community \u201cthat was felt by a large silent majority.\u201d<\/p>\n He said that fear was instilled through intimidation tactics by elected officials and those who held positions of authority.<\/p>\n \u201cI encourage all members of the community to continue to be vigilant and report all acts of corruption that they see occur or know had occurred. Justice may take some time but it does eventually come,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today marks the first year since former governor Benigno R. Fitial resigned, yet historian Don…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26,257,67,50],"class_list":["post-28144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi","tag-nmi","tag-people","tag-power"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}