Rep. Patrick San Nicolas confers with Reps. Joseph Flores and John Paul Sablan during a House session in July 2024.
REPRESENTATIVE Patrick H. San Nicolas said he “strongly opposes” House Resolution 24-4, which “objects” to the Superior Court’s acquittal of businessman Shayne Blanco Villanueva. The resolution also urges the CNMI Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute the crimes related to the $17 million Building Optimism, Opportunities, and Stability Together or BOOST program that former Gov. Ralph DLG Torres implemented in 2022.
Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the Torres administration contracted to help market and promote (not administer as earlier reported) the federally funded program.
Authored by House Floor Leader Marissa Flores, H.R. 24-4 likewise condemns Judge Kenneth L. Govendo’s “demonstrated bias” against Assistant AG James Kingman, and denounces the “denial of due process with respect to the Commonwealth’s ability to effectively prosecute its case.”
In addition, the resolution urges the Judiciary and the CNMI Bar Association to review and investigate Judge Govendo’s “in-court comments that undermined public confidence in the judiciary’s impartiality and [reflected] a personal bias that was unbecoming a member of the Judiciary.”
During the trial, the judge, who found Villanueva not guilty of contempt of Legislature, “advised Villanueva to be ‘more forthcoming’ if summoned to testify again because a future trial ‘might not end up in a not-guilty verdict.’ [These] comments by the judge, the House resolution stated, “directly contradict his verdict and underscore the lack of justification for the acquittal.”
Judge Govendo also stated that Assistant Attorney General James Robert Kingman “is a liability to this government. He is arrogant, he thinks he is omnipotent, and maybe it is time for him to head back to Texas.”
Separation of powers
In a statement to Variety on Sunday, San Nicolas said he strongly opposes H.R. 24-4 on the grounds of separation of powers.
“While I respect the right of all members of this Legislature to introduce and debate resolutions on matters of public interest, the proposed resolution intrudes on the fundamental separation of powers enshrined in our constitutional system,” San Nicolas said.
He emphasized the following critical points:
1) Intrusion on executive authority when the resolution states, “urging the CNMI Attorney General to investigate and prosecute the former BOOST program implies a directive to the executive branch, which must remain free to exercise its prosecutorial discretion without legislative interference. We must not overstep our constitutional role.”
2) Interference with judicial independence as H.R. 24-4 “calls to investigate a sitting judge’s comments during a trial undermine judicial independence. Judges must be free to perform their duties without undue influence from the Legislature, or we risk compromising the impartiality of our judicial system.”
The Tinian representative also stressed that protecting the separation of powers is essential to maintaining public confidence in all branches of government.
He urged his fellow lawmakers to exercise restraint when dealing with matters involving the internal functions of the judiciary and the executive branch.
Judge Govendo declined to comment.
With Bryan Manabat
