The administration had contracted nearly $1 million in typhoon recovery expenses within a week of Typhoon Mawar, but has yet to explain what those contracts were for, or with whom they were made.
According to a report submitted to the legislative speaker by the Bureau of Budget and Management Research, as of May 31, 2023, the Leon Guerrero administration had spent $857,510.96 on unnamed contracts under the government’s Typhoon Mawar Recovery account. The report was required by senators as a condition of the legislature’s $50 million authorization of local funds for typhoon recovery and aid.
The authorization, Public Law 37-17, was passed during an emergency session of the legislature. Sen. Chris Barnett slammed the report’s lack of details, and the administration’s lack of financial transparency, in a statement we provide in full below:
“During the emergency session I specifically asked for more detailed reporting, and we were assured we would get it.
“We funded the Mawar response and recovery with $50M in good faith, and it’s disappointing Lou and Josh are not being transparent and are not acting in good faith.
“It’s a basic concept of good governance to let the people know how their money is being spent, and it’s sad Adelup hasn’t learned that after four years in office.
“The devil is in the details, and Adelup should be proud of what they’re spending the public’s recovery dollars on. Our people need help, and the Legislature answered the call by funding our Mawar recovery efforts. But it doesn’t look like help is going where it is most needed.
“One line to explain the spending of millions of dollars is not good enough and it’s an insult to our people that Adelup thinks this is ‘reporting.’
“We’ve already seen some questionable recovery spending that raises major conflict of interest concerns. We hope that’s not par for the course, but there’s only one way to find out.
“Even though we should have got it in the first place, my office will immediately request more detailed documentation.”
Kandit last week sent a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of all emergency and regular procurements executed by both the Office of the Governor and Guam Homeland Security-Office of Civil Defense since May 22, 2023. Both entities informed Kandit Friday they are exercising the 10-day extension clause under the FOIA due to the number of documents that must be copied.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan also appears to be interested in these and other procurement documents issued by GHS-OCD and the governor’s office. In subpoenas ordered by a grand jury in local court, the attorney general appears to have opened multiple criminal cases involving government funds. at least one of which is related to the governor’s office’s request and use of $60,000 in typhoon recovery money to fund a propaganda talk show on a radio station partly owned by the governor.
Mr. Barnett, speaking on The Ray Gibson Show last week, has been highly critical of the administration’s use of that money for the propaganda show, and his suspicion of other questionable purchase orders the governor may have approved using emergency authority since the Mawar disaster declaration.
The BBMR report, issued June 20, 2023, only provides expenditure information through May 31.
