By Roy Quinata
It is so important that we ensure all residents of Guam are able to recover from the impact of any storm. We must be united as “One Guam” and protect each other during times of disaster, not cause further disruption or harm to those who have already been so greatly impacted. It is for this reason that I support a law that would increase penalties for those who are convicted of creating mischief or perpetrating violence during a disaster and its aftermath. With such a law in place, we can ensure that all residents are given the opportunity to recover and rebuild their lives in the wake of a devastating natural disaster.
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Roy Quinata is a senator in the Thirty-seventh Guam Legislature, and a member of the democrat majority.
Editor’s note: Kandit wrote to Attorney General Douglas Moylan, Public Defender Services Corporation executive director Stephen Hattori, and the 15 members of the Guam Legislature asking whether, in light of violent crimes being committed during the typhoon response and the strain criminals are placing on an already-strained criminal justice system, they would support enhancements in sentencing for people convicted of committing crimes during a typhoon recovery period.
5 Comments
David Lubofsky
06/24/2023 at 8:20 PM
Hopefully it won’t include stealing a loaf of bread or panhandling. It’s always the poorest that suffer the most with half baked 37th legislation.
Thomas Hertslet
06/25/2023 at 8:54 AM
I am totally for it. It should also apply to Guam government and management of sole utility providers for not disclosing important information such a lack of transformer or other critical parts to establish safe and speedy utilities recovery.
Andy
06/26/2023 at 12:06 PM
David,
Theft is theft. Poor or rich. It shouldn’t matter. I am sensitive to the plight of the poor? Absolutely! Should they have a robust community safety net? Absolutely! Should the poor be able to seek out streams of income just like their other community members? Absolutely! But when a group of individuals acts separate and apart from the larger community, they cannot rely on the safety nets to work because they aren’t working within the system. That’s the majority of our panhandlers and homeless. They have checked out of society and it’s only in times of crisis that people wonder why their plight is so bad when our world is advancing.
The fact of the matter is this: The poor in Guam have gotten accustomed to hand outs and provisions from others when they needed to learn to fish instead of just accepting tasty morsels of fish. Personal accountability and responsibility starts with the individual.
Our community is sick. It needs more than money, bread, and opportunity. It needs a responsive voting populace that actually cares about the impact our corrupt politicians and so-called “leaders” have had on this tiny island. It’s time to stop the Pari-Pari system, cut off the fat and fraud, and finally hold someone accountable. Notice I didn’t say hold the poor accountable. I’m more interested in the core cause of this issue.
Kepuha
06/26/2023 at 5:03 PM
So a we’re gonna start using “disaster recovery” as a timeline to gauge severity of punishment!?!? Busta, Guam is a disaster 24/7! This is why I relocated twice off the island within a span of 22 years (left for 11yrs, returned for 11years, now….gone forever). I was born and raised on Guam, a place I was once proud to call home!
The island is struggling to stay afloat and the Chamorus are the ones drowning, all because of people who don’t belong there.
Let’s see if us locals (born/blooded) ever get the respect and reserves that the Native Indians get in the mainland. *wishful thinking*
“Priced out of Paradise”
Alan San Nicolas
06/27/2023 at 6:54 AM
Metgot ña I kontrata aka plea agreement. Achuka meyong na lai en aprueba, tai fuetsa. Faisen maisa hao ,hafa na halom yan huyong gi trubunat si tattamudu-tattamuda. Kastiga sigon gi lai basta man ofresi ni kontrata. AFAÑELOS, APROBECHA I SNAP NA SETBISIO