Is Ben Pangelinan Using The Appropriations Chairmanship To Suit His Own Agenda?

By John Dela Rosa

GUAM - Guam News Factor recently posted two stories about Senator Ben Pangelinan and his questionable relationship with the Guam bond underwriters Prager, McCarthey & Sealy, while he was the Chairman of the Committee on Economic and Agricultural Development, Banking and Insurance. We questioned Pangelinan’s potential conflict of interest and why neither he nor Prager, McCarthey & Sealy disclosed that Pangelinan was employed by the firm while he served as oversight chair for GEDA.

Read the Guam News Factor story, "THE EVIDENCE SAYS IT  ALL: Guam Senator's Business Interests Bring Questions Of Conflict (Part 2 Of The Factor Series)", May 27, 2009.

Read the Guam News Factor story, "In The Interest Of Guam Senator Ben Pangelinan", May 25, 2009.

To date, there has been no public explanation by Pangelinan about the matter.

Conflict of interest seems to be a pattern for Senator Pangelinan. Case in point? His criticism and lack of action on the John F. Kennedy High School campus crisis is at least suspect. Pangelinan appears to be using delay tactics to prevent passage of the law that will allow the contract for the construction of temporary classrooms to proceed.

Today, the Marianas Variety Guam Edition story “Core Tech Contract: Deal Or No Deal?” explains:

“If the tax credit or other method of payment is not in place by this date [June 17, 2009], then the contract will automatically be cancelled and held void,” said the source.

It goes on to paraphrase the source:

If Bill 1 is passed by lawmakers and signed by the governor, then the tax credits must be transferable by Core Tech, and the law will allow the company to take and receive tax credits during the entire term of the 10-year lease, said the source.

Senator Ben Pangelinan is expected to hold a hearing on Bill 1 on June 23, but the question remains, will it be too late? If this is the case, Variety sources say that the Governor might send a measure of a substituted Bill 1 to lawmakers and request that a special session be held.

Read the Marianas Variety Guam Edition story, "Contract includes purchase of Core Tech property".

It seems that with all of the urgency to find a solution to the double sessions for GW and JFK students, Senator Pangelinan is in no hurry to act on this critical component of the lease agreement.

So the real question is this. Why would a Senator, whose job it is to help find solutions that are beneficial to our public school students, dragging his feet on such an important piece of the puzzle?

For the answer, we need only go back to a story the Variety covered two days earlier:

Senator Ben Pangelinan told Variety yesterday that he has scheduled a hearing for Bill 1, tentatively on June 23. However (he) expressed his concern regarding the 10-year lease.

Read the Marianas Variety Guam Edition story, "Transfer plan for JFK students hits a snag anew", June 10, 2009.

Yet again, it appears that Pangelinan is using his position as Chairman of Appropriations to delay action on Bill No. 1 simply because he disagrees with the lease for the Interim JFK campus.

What Pangelinan should have done was hold a public hearing for this bill months ago, received public input and then put the bill before his colleagues for full discussion and vote. Instead, the Senator has decided that his view is the only one that matters and has delayed the public input process long enough to ensure that the tax credits critical to the lease agreement are not passed into law on time. Without the tax credits, the lease that Pangelinan publicly opposes will be void.

Shame on Senator Pangelinan for not allowing public input on Bill No. 1! It is equally disappointing that he will work to kill the one viable solution to ending the double sessions and restoring the full 180 instructional days our students need.

At this critical juncture, we remind Senator Pangelinan that as a member of Guam's community in a position of authority over public financing -- that he above most on our island must abide by the final, emphatic sentence of the John F. Kennedy mission statement:

"Quality education at J.F.K.H.S. will continue through a collaborative effort of parents, community, administration, staff, teachers, and students."

This story includes contributions from Jeff Marchesseault.

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