{"id":281654,"date":"2018-08-06T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T22:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=281654"},"modified":"2018-08-06T06:00:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-05T22:00:12","slug":"babauta-time-to-bring-back-trust-in-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/babauta-time-to-bring-back-trust-in-govt\/","title":{"rendered":"Babauta: Time to bring back trust in govt"},"content":{"rendered":"
Former governor Juan N. Babauta and former education commissioner Dr. Rita A. Sablan file their candidacies for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively, before Commonwealth Election Commission staff. (Ferdie De La Torre)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former governor Juan N. Babauta said that restoring people\u2019s trust in government is one of the reasons why he and Dr. Rita A. Sablan decided to seek the Commonwealth\u2019s two highest positions in government.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are driven by many forces and reasons to seek public office. To some, the desire to serve is of the highest order,\u201d said Babauta in last Saturday\u2019s Democratic Party of the Northern Marianas\u2019 2018 convention at Grandvrio Hotel\u2019s Fiesta Room.<\/p>\n

Babauta is running for the third time with Sablan, a former CNMI Education commissioner, as his running mate. He was elected as the sixth governor and served from 2002 to 2006 but lost in his re-election bid to the Covenant Party\u2019s Benigno R. Fitial.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a calling to serve for the greater good over self. Dr. Sablan and I recognize this but we also recognize that the desire to serve must come from the heart,\u201d added Babauta, who also ran for the CNMI delegate post against Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) in 2010.<\/p>\n

Babauta said the events in the CNMI the last four years were the driving force behind their decision. \u201cTo many in the CNMI, the last four years have once again cast a sinister vibe of government. \u2026It is not a government at its best. It has eroded the public confidence and cast a dark cloud over the integrity of many who are supposed to be in positions of trust. It is reminiscent of events that took place here in the CNMI not too long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that workers have been exploited or even die at worksite with no one being held responsible, while they are also being unjustly compensated. \u201cWorkers are being silenced by flying them out in the CNMI in the middle of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Babauta said a large portion of the CNMI remain at poverty level or below. \u201c\u2026Wealth is in the hands of the few. This is not the CNMI that we envisioned when we became U.S. citizens in 1986.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids and future generations will inevitably ask all of us \u2018did you something about it?\u2019 We don\u2019t want them to tell us that we were complicit and that we were silent and that we did not do something about it. We want to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that a lot of people want change every time he and Dr. Sablan visit the homes of common people. \u201cEvery where we went, we hear \u2018we want change.\u2019 So, on Nov. 6, the independents and Democrats ask you to make that change a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026So we can move our Commonwealth forward to a better and more prosperous future,\u201d said Babauta, who also ran in 2014 against eventual winner, Eloy S. Inos.<\/p>\n

Babauta added that making the government more transparent is also their purpose. <\/p>\n

In an alternate world<\/strong>
\nHe also mentioned that problems\u2014like 740 families on the wait list for housing assistance and 672 people on Saipan who are homeless\u2014continue to exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have become tenants rather than landlords in own land. The Salvation Army feeds people who are hungry and, according to their figures, that number is growing. Somebody up there on Mt. Olympus think that they are living in the land of Alice in Wonderland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur graduates cannot find meaningful good-paying jobs. Prices of goods are out of reach of the common people. The government owes [the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.] between $45 million to $50 million. Yet when Tan Maria and Tun Jose miss paying their $35 CUC bill they get disconnected and charged $100 for reconnection.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also cited that airlines have pulled out of the CNMI; crime and domestic violence are rising; the inmates at the Corrections sued the government for neglect, and healthcare is a big problem. \u201cHealth insurance deductibles are so high that the sick can not afford to pay even the deductible or the entire bill. Forty-five percent of people in the CNMI are uninsured.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s $16 million of uncompensated care at the [Commonwealth Health Center]. These are poor people who are going to the hospital getting care, walking out not being able to pay for the healthcare they received.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vision for the CNMI<\/strong>
\nBabauta envisions universal healthcare, protecting the environment, helping young entrepreneurs, and keeping education a centerpiece of economic development, and respecting ancient sites.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are some that we envision when we become part of the U.S. in 1986. We can talk about many other things but today, I just want to thank the Democrats of NMI for endorsing the Babauta-Sablan ticket and the rest of our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the Babauta-Sablan ticket salute the leadership of Democratic Party of the NMI chair Dan Quitugua and the Central Committee. <\/p>\n

Delegate Sablan\u2014who is seeking a sixth term as NMI delegate\u2014former governor Dr. Carlos S. Camacho\u2014the CNMI\u2019s first chief executive\u2014former lieutenant governor Jesus Borja\u2014who served under former governor Froilan Tenorio from 1994 to 1998\u2014and former senators H.R. Guerrero and David Cing also endorsed the Babauta-Sablan ticket.<\/p>\n

Glenn Manglona (Precinct 1) and Peter Muna (Precinct 5) are the only official candidates by the local Democratic Party, but it is also endorsing the candidacies of former Labor secretary Edith Deleon Guerrero, and former House Speaker Heinz Hofschneider (Senate), Rep. Edwin K. Propst, Samantha Birmingham-Babauta, Franklin Babauta (Precinct 1), and former representative Tina Sablan (Precinct 2).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former governor Juan N. Babauta said that restoring people\u2019s trust in government is one of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":281655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[22226,26,288,67],"class_list":["post-281654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-babauta-time","tag-cnmi","tag-democratic-party","tag-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281654","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\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}