SAIPAN — The chairman of the Senate committee holding several stalled utility bills pushed back Monday against accusations that the Senate is dragging its feet, declaring that careful review of legislation is a constitutional duty and not obstruction.
Senator Manny Gregory Tenorio Castro, who chairs the Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications, issued a statement responding to recent public criticism of the Senate for taking time to review bills passed by the House of Representatives.
“The Senate is not a rubber stamp,” Castro said.
Castro said the Senate was established as a co-equal legislative body with an independent duty to review legislation carefully, conduct oversight, hear from stakeholders and ensure that laws serve the people of the Commonwealth. That duty, he said, does not disappear because a bill passes the House, because someone wants immediate action, or because of public pressure and social media attacks.
He said the people of the CNMI deserve lawmakers who ask difficult questions, seek expert advice and identify unintended consequences rather than simply moving bills from one chamber to another. Complex issues involving public assets, utility systems, government finances and long-term obligations should not be decided hastily, he said.
“Due diligence is not obstruction,” Castro said. “Careful review is not delay. Oversight is not weakness.”
Castro said no member of the House, regardless of how passionate they are about a bill, has the authority to dictate how the Senate conducts hearings, manages committees or exercises its judgment. He said the Senate will not be rushed or bullied and will not abandon its responsibilities to satisfy political timelines or public narratives.
“Our obligation is not to pass bills quickly,” he said. “Our obligation is to pass laws that are thoughtful, transparent, and serve the people long after the headlines have faded.”
The statement comes days after Representative Vincent “Kobre” Aldan accused the Senate during a live broadcast of stalling the Fair Billing Practices Act and related Commonwealth Utilities Corporation oversight measures. Senator Corina L. Magofna issued her own rebuttal over the weekend, saying she tabled the billing measure to add consumer-protection amendments. Castro’s PUTC committee is the panel where several of the contested ratepayer bills now sit.