Pacific Island Times Vol 3 No. 5 May 2019 | Page 5

Brief Chat
Rep. Tina Sablan
The conscience of the CNMI legislature
By Jonathan Perez
S
aipan — When something seems not right,
CNMI Rep. Cristina “Tina” Sablan is the first
to blow the whistle. On April 12, she asked
the CNMI House leadership to place on session
agenda the Office of Public Auditor’s opinion that
thumbed down a House resolution allowing legisla-
tors to drawn down up to $5,000 in monthly allow-
ances from their office allocations. Her request was
shut down by the House leadership.
As a member of the minority bloc, pushing her
advocacy for a responsible government is not a
walk in the park. She is not into filing bills after
bills. Rather, she is more interested in scrutinizing
every single piece of legislation — especially
those that deal with public money.
Sablan, a member of the House Ways and Means
Committee, recently called on the Department of
Finance Department and the Officer of Manage-
ment and Budget to provide the real state of the
government’s finances so the Legislature could
plan ahead and map out the spending for the com-
ing fiscal year.
As for Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ decision to
reduce the monthly allocation for the Legislature,
Sablan said, “[It’s] way beyond the proportion-
ate across-the-board reduction that the governor
ordered. That’s a 60-percent cut to our operational
budget for each member.” If the governor were to
implement a much larger proportionate reduction,
Sablan said, the legislators must be notified first.
“That’s required by the Planning and Budgeting
Act. There’s a process, and that process was not
followed,” she said.
Sablan, an Independent, fashions herself as the
Legislature’s conscience. She champions account-
ability and transparency in government, a self-ap-
pointed mission that she shares with other members
of the minority bloc.
On social issues, Sablan engages in community
discussions based on reason rather than emotion.
While vocal about her concerns with the Imperial
Pacific’s gaming venture, Sablan said she is “not
against the casino.” She said she wants it to “suc-
ceed so CNMI can benefit from it.”
Part of Sablan’s appeal is her youthful idealism.
She was born on Saipan May 18, 1981 to Eugenio
and Carmela Sablan. She grew up in Chalan Kanoa
and Tanapag and is now a resident of Susupe.
Sablan holds a master’s in urban and regional
planning from the University of Hawaii in Manoa,
2016, a graduate certificate in conflict resolution
also from UH, and a bachelor of science in conser-
vation science from College of Santa Fe, where she
graduated in 2003.
Sablan won a seat in the 16th Legislature as an
independent for Precinct 1, finishing sixth in a
crowded 15-candidate field behind now Gov. Ralph
DLG Torres, incumbent Saipan Mayor David
M. Apatang, former lt. gov. Diego T. Benavente,
Joseph Pinaula Deleon Guerrero and Joseph C.
Reyes.
She then decided to try her luck in the 2009 Sen-
ate race for the two seats at stake for third senatori-
al district but lost her bid, landing fifth out of eight
candidates. She described the experience — being
a one-term legislator and losing in her next reelec-
tion bid — as a humbling experience that helped
mold her to become a better person and lawmaker.
“I think the years that followed in my first term
helped me gain more knowledge,” said Sablan,
who became a television reporter and managed the
non-profit group Commonwealth Cancer Associa-
tion after her loss.
She also worked for the CNMI Congressional
Office in Washington D.C. under current Delegate
Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) while also try-
ing to complete her post-graduate degree.
Sablan became more involved in what’s happen-
ing in Precinct 2, after moving there from Precinct
1. “I was really paying attention to what’s hap-
pening politically in the local government and the
issues that affects my Precinct where I was current-
ly was living. I started to participate with the sitting
members of the Legislature who are Independent
and with other individuals who were planning to
run for office,” she said. “It was a very support-
ive group. We’ve met frequently and talked about
issues that we were concerned about. At some point
it kind of just came to the question if I am going to
run or not. And, I looked around in a table full of
people that were also trying to make that decision
of putting their names forward.”
She then decided to run again as an Independent
candidate, hoping to earn one of the two slots for
Precinct 2. She went against the Republican bets
of then House Speaker Rafael Demapan and Rep.
John Paul Sablan. Sablan added that the even
though she was running as an Independent the third
time, she was more excited and relaxed since she
now has allies supporting her congressional bid
unlike before when she tried to move to the Senate
in the 2009 elections.
“It felt that I would be coming in to the race
with a lot more support, in the sense of having this
community that wants to be part of public service.
And I want to be part of that. I’m glad, I won,” said
Sablan, who finished on top of Precinct 2 and was
joined by J.P. Sablan therefore dislodging Dema-
pan.
“What had happened was, some of the indepen-
dent candidates decided to form an alliance and we
were also in talks with the [local] Democratic Party
back then. The Democrats are trying to revive the
party. We had a lot of common interests and share
the same values.”
That’s why, Sablan said that it was fitting for
some of the Independent candidates to form some
sort of coalition and try to help each other out. “By
then, all of us who were running as independent’s
had already made a decision to run as indepen-
dent’s. We already reached out to our supporter and
announced as independent candidates. And we’re
supporting other independents.”
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