Pacific Island Times Vol 3 No. 7 July 2019 | Page 4

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK E The atrocities of politics xecutive and legislative leaders hastily called a press confer- ence last month to announce a brilliant plan. Gov. Lou Leon Guer- rero delivered a random introduc- tion. War survivors, she said, do not have to wait for Section 30 money to receive their war claims. Local funds are available, she claimed. What local funds? The governor was refer- ring to supposed savings that GovGuam stands to generate from the Di- saster Relief Act, which contains, among others, a provision that would give Guam a relief from matching the balance of about $47 million funds from what was formerly known as Obamacare, which will expire on Sept. 30. Initial- ly, I was unsure if I heard it right. But the governor and lt. governor made it further clear. The administration will use the funds meant for Medicaid matching to cover portions of the war claims. The “available’ local funds will supposedly cover the war claims for 600 war survivors, whose applica- tions have been adjudicated. A perti- nent bill has been drafted, will soon be filed and signed into law before July 21, according to Speaker Tina Muna Barnes. “Our survivors are here and they are slowly leaving us. It’s been 75 years since the liberation of these very courageous and very loving sur- vivors, our manamko’. What I would like to do is give them an opportunity to be whole now by giving them the war claims before all of them are no longer with us,” Leon Guerrero said. Elections are over. They are already in power. Why are they still campaigning? It’s cringeworthy. The administration’s plan rings hollow, considering the fact that GovGuam constantly whines about 4 not having enough cash to produce the local match for Medicaid. In February, the Department of Public Health and Social Services told the legislature that it has ex- hausted its fiscal 2019 local Medic- aid appropriation for the current the fiscal year. Public Health officials reported a poten- tial $13.3 million shortfall for local matching Med- icaid funds. An executive order reprogrammed $7.7 million from the GMH Pharmaceutical Funds for GMH Medicaid claims, still leaving a $5.6 mil- lion shortfall. If the Medicaid match funds are all used up and the department is running a deficit, then what “local funds” are the administra- tion officials talking about? Phantom money? The administration’s plan doesn’t sit well with Guam Delegate Mi- chael San Nicolas, who resents not being consulted on this random plan. After all, he has been hard at work to secure the passage of his H.R. 1365 that would correct the technical flaws in the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act. The law authorizes the war claims payments using Section 30 money, with an initial $6.4 million expected to be released to cover $5.2 million for the adjudicated applications. The Committee on Natural Re- sources unanimously passed H.R. 1365 during the June 19 markup hearing. No one knows for sure when the bill will become a law. Maybe in another 75 years. Meanwhile, Vice Speaker Teena Nelson refereed between the admin- istration and San Nicolas. “Though your offices may not answer to each other, we all answer to the people of Guam. For the sake of our war sur- vivors, we plead to you both to work together for sound solutions based on the values of our CHamoru culture, especially inafa’maolek, which calls for collaboration and reciprocation in the overall goal of harmony,” Nelson said in an open letter sent to both the governor and the Guam delegate. She added: “The people of Guam and our war survivors deserve noth- ing less and are watching as we try to close the chapter on this nearly 75-year-old story. Please, let us come together and continue to search for the crossroads that will lead our peo- ple to the rightful compensation they deserve before it is too late.” Guam’s war survivors suffered the atrocities of war. Seventy five years later, they are suffering the atrocities of politics. Shame. The administration’s plan rings hollow, considering the fact that GovGuam constantly whines about not having enough cash to produce the local match for Medicaid. If the Medicaid match funds are all used up and the department is running a deficit, then what “local funds” are the administration officials talking about? Phantom money? Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Mar-Vic Cagurangan [email protected] Contributing Writers Raquel Bagnol Zaldy Dandan Jayne Flores Ken Leon Guerrero Theodore Lewis Bruce Lloyd Joyce McClure Diana Mendoza Joseph Meyers Julian North Jonathan Perez Alex Rhowuniong Joy Santamarina Johanna Salinas Visual Editor Mar-Vic Cagurangan Sales and Marketing Executive Jan SN Furukawa [email protected] Account Executive Anna Marie Alegre [email protected] Administraitive Assistant Lolita Therrel [email protected] *** Pacific Independent News Service LLC Tumon Sands Plaza 1082 Pale San Vitores Rd. Tumon Guam 96931 Telephone: [phone] Email: [email protected] Website: www.pacificislandtimes.com The Pacific Island Times is published monthly and circulated in Guam and Palau by the Pacific Independent News Service LLC. Editorial and advertising submissions become property of the Pacific Island Times and cannot be lifted without consent of the publisher. 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