A bill seeking $50,000 for Rota casino commissioners’ training, including travel to the Philippines, drew strong opposition from Sen. Paul Manglona, who called the proposed trip a “junket” and argued that the money could be better spent helping Rota residents or providing less costly online training.
The Rota Legislative Delegation ultimately did not vote on HLB 24-58 during its Sept. 3 session. Instead, the delegation went into recess until Sept. 9 at 1pm after technical difficulties prevented members from questioning Rota Casino Gaming Commission officials online.
During discussion of the measure, Sen. Paul Manglona questioned the need to send commissioners off-island for training.
“I don't think it requires a trip to the Philippines,” he said. “So I would much rather that they focus on trying to get the online gaming moving forward, and let's put the interest of our people first before we consider giving $50,000 for the casino commissioners to go on a junket to the Philippines for online gaming.”
The delegation, composed of chair Sen. Donald M. Manglona, Sen. Ronnie Calvo, Sen. Paul Manglona, and Rep. Julie Ogo, initially voted unanimously to place HLB 24-58 on its bill calendar. Sen. Paul Manglona, however, made clear that his vote to put the measure on the calendar did not mean he supported its passage.
When the bill later came up for action, Sen. Paul Manglona renewed his opposition.
“This is not right to give $50,000 for online training so that the Rota Casino Gaming Commissioners can travel to the Philippines for one week or a little more than one week of online gaming training,” he said.
Sen. Paul Manglona said Rota continues to face financial challenges following recent typhoons and argued that residents with medical needs should take priority.
“I'm going to offer that this $50,000 instead be given to these patients,” he said.
Sen. Paul Manglona said he was not opposed to training the commissioners, but wanted the training done online rather than through off-island travel.
“I will support giving the $50,000 for online training, but not for travel,” he said. “Not one penny of this money should be taken for travel unless it's for stipend in order to pursue the online training. But for outside the Commonwealth, I will not support this legislation.”
During public comments and later questioning by delegation members, Saipan businessman Blaine Graboyes Goodman also questioned the need for off-island training.
“In my opinion, no. I would say it's actually much better to do the training online,” Goodman said when asked whether commissioners needed to travel off-island for hands-on online gaming regulatory training.
He said online training could give commissioners access to more material and instructors and allow them to learn over a longer period instead of trying to complete the training in about a week.
He also suggested that the commission could use some of the funding for equipment and local information technology assistance. Goodman said commissioners should first learn the fundamentals of online gaming regulation before more specialized training is considered.
Sen. Ronnie Calvo, however, cautioned against assuming that one method of training would work for everyone. He acknowledged the affordability of online training but raised concerns about restricting the commission too much in deciding how its members should be trained.
The delegation separately took up HLB 24-54, which seeks to lower local gambling tax rates, including for online gaming. That measure passed unanimously.
HLB 24-58, however, remained pending.
After the delegation returned from a committee-of-the-whole discussion, chair Sen. Donald Manglona said officials had tried to get the Rota Casino Gaming Commission online so members could ask additional questions but encountered technical difficulties.
“So before we take any action on this bill, I would like to ask the members to return at a later time,” Sen. Donald Manglona said.
Share this article:
