Babauta pushes for passage of subpoena bill, has substitute prepared for session

Celina Roberto Babauta told Kandit the Office of the Attorney General should have the explicit power to subpoena documents and witness testimony.

“Surely the single most important law enforcement agency that prosecutes criminal cases should also have such authority set out in statute,” Ms. Babauta, a member of the Senate, said.

Her public stance is the polar opposite from Edith Deleon Guerrero, her democratic colleague and one-time c0-crusader in the fight against the corruption of republicans and cronies of the former Torres regime. Ms. Deleon Guerrero, the Senate president, has held back Marissa Flores’ House Bill No. 23-22, which would grant the OAG subpoena powers. The Senate was supposed to consider the bill in its September session, but Ms. Deleon Guerrero pulled back, questioning why the government had to make corruption prosecutor James Kingman’s job “easier.”

Mr. Kingman is prosecuting Mr. Torres.

The Senate president also shared concerns by the Office of the Public Defender that the Flores bill’s so-called grant of investigative powers to the OAG creates an “unchecked police” department. Attorney General Edward Manibusan last Friday wrote to Ms. Deleon Guerrero to educate her about his agency’s existing investigative and law enforcement powers. He also clarified that Ms. Flores’ bill will not require an appropriation of funds, another contention the Senate president publicly made.

Ms. Babauta has prepared a substitute version of the Flores bill to address lingering concerns, including those from the Office of the Public Auditor. According to Ms. Babauta:

“The substitute completely deletes any changes to the investigative division, thereby avoiding the claim by [Public Defender] that it creates a ‘police state.’ The OPA comments were already addressed in HS1 by deleting the requirements for OPA to cooperate with AGO. That narrows the bill to address only the issue of codifying a process for issuance of investigative subpoenas. CNMI is the only jurisdiction without such a process in place. As noted in the findings, the legislature has already codified a process for a legislative subpoena, administrative subpoenas by executive branch agencies and OPA subpoenas.”

Ms. Babauta has been the legislature’s hammer against corruption since her first term in the House, when her investigations led to the impeachment of then-Governor Ralph Torres, and then to a new inquiry on his misuse of federal funds. While Babauta was in the House, Ms. Deleon Guerrero was a minority member in the Senate who, together with Teresita Santos and Paul Manglona, led the opposition to the republican majority that protected Mr. Torres and his cronies.

Ms. Deleon Guerrero’s political complexion began changing, however, when the democrats and independents formed the majority coalition in both the House and Senate in January 2023, and she was elected Senate president. She has continuously aligned with the republicans in the Senate, three of whom stifled the impeachment trial she supported in 2022.

Ms. Babauta is calling on her colleagues to consider and pass Ms. Flores’ bill with amendments.