Pacific Island Times February 2019 Vol 3 No. 2 | Page 5

Brief Chat
CNMI Governor
Ralph Torres
Rising from the rubble
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
“In dark and difficult moments, I look to our lagoon
for peace. The fish are still swimming. The waves
are still rolling, and the tides are right on time. The
sunset is still perfect in the Marianas.”
T
hree infamous names will go down in the
Northern Marianas history as the villains of
its economy: Soudelor, Mangkhut and Yutu.
The three ferocious typhoons plowed through the
commonwealth islands during Gov. Ralph Torres’
stint in Capital Hill. By now Torres is a veteran of
natural disasters, emerging from the wreck three
times–with a newfound confidence and fortitude.
And if another one is coming to test the CNMI’s re-
silience one more time, Torres dare say: bring it on!
“We will rebuild from this typhoon; we will be
stronger for the next,” Torres, the CNMI’s ninth
governor, said in his inaugural speech at the North-
ern Mariana Islands Soccer Training Center in Ko-
blerville, one the villages on Saipan hardest hit by
Yutu on Oct. 25, 2018. “This inauguration day is in
some ways a symbol of a new beginning. I hope we
will all welcome a fresh start, a new approach, even
as we face problems that are familiar.”
Politics took a pause after Yutu. Rehabilitating
their shattered lives was the community’s priority.
Too distressed to engage in political trivialities, the
CNMI voters gave the Republican governor another
mandate, allowing him to continue what he started.
Torres and his running mate Arnold Palacios
emerged from the November 2018 elections with
62 percent of the general votes, the largest ever
received by CNMI gubernatorial ticket. They were
sworn into office on Jan. 14, taking up the challenge
to rebuild the typhoon-shattered commonwealth.
“The opportunity of this recovery, the responsibil-
ity to lead in service... you have given me a tremen-
dous gift,” said the 39-year-old Torres, the youngest
governor the CNMI has ever had.
Born on Saipan on Aug. 6, 1979, Torres received
a bachelor’s in Political Science from Boise State
University in 2001, and began to work with his
brother at Torres Brothers Attorneys at Law in 2004.
His political career began in 2008 upon his election
to the CNMI House of Representatives. In 2010,
he won the election to the CNMI Senate, where he
served as chairman of the Health & Welfare Com-
mittee. In February 2013, he became the Senate
president.
For an electorate tired of old politics, the youthful
Torres embodied a refreshing change. In January
2015, Torres became the CNMI’s lieutenant gov-
ernor with Eloy Inos as governor. Several months
later, the mantle of responsibility fell on Torres
when Inos fell sick. Around this time the CNMI’s
economy was on the rise after recovering from the
doldrums caused by the demise of the once prepon-
derant albeit controversial garment industry. The
equally controversial casino industry on Saipan took
its place. Tourism was on a rebound. The economy
was flourishing, only to be disrupted by Soudelor,
which battered Saipan in July 2015 and put Torres’
leadership to test. Torres officially took over as gov-
ernor following the death of Inos in December 2015.
In three years since Soudelor, the CNMI managed
to get back on its feet. Then Mangkhut came blast-
ing Rota in September 2015.
In October last year, Yutu killed one person,
knocked out power and water, damaged the airport,
flattened houses, schools and businesses on Saipan
and Tinian. It offset years of economic gains from
spike in tourism and dole outs from the Imperial
Pacific Inc. Yutu came less than a week after the
commonwealth government beat the drum for the
CNMI’s 25 percent economic growth in 2017.
“Today begins an opportunity to improve our gov-
ernment and improve our commonwealth. At this
Photo courtesy of Marianas Variety
time, we all have a chance to rebuild,” Torres said
during his inauguration.
The CNMI is not alone in its recovery. The Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency has set up a
station on Saipan. Relief assistance poured in from
military commands, foreign governments, neigh-
boring islands, former residents and national charity
organizations.
“We take care of each other in hard times like
these. And sometimes in a disaster you discover you
have neighbors that are a lot closer than you think,”
Torres said. “When the leaves blow away, when the
roofing tin is cleared, our friends seem to be just
that much closer. That’s what has happened these
last difficult months and what is still happening. Our
neighbors, our friends, have shown how close they
are.”
The series of disasters, Torres said, gave him
a new perspective of the CNMI community. “In
dark and difficult moments, I look to our lagoon
for peace. The fish are still swimming. The waves
are still rolling, and the tides are right on time. The
sunset is still perfect in the Marianas,” he said.
Torres said he chose to focus on people rather
than the destruction. “I saw a young man who lost
his home, only to head right back out to volunteer
to distribute food to his neighbors. I saw a pub-
lic school teacher, living in one shelter and then
commuting to work as a shelter manager in another
village. I saw children playing, parents cooking and
singers singing,” he said.
“In a community like ours, what happens to some
of us happens to all of us. So, we join together with
compassion, determination, and we will continue to
build a community stronger than we have ever been
before.”
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