By Troy Torres
(Tumon, Guam) At 5:07 p.m. on April 1, June Borja at the governor's office sent her co-worker an email asking her to add public health director Linda DeNorcey's signature to four back-dated letters designating hotels as quarantine facilities.
She wrote to her co-worker, Laurie Tumaneng, that their office received approval from Ms. DeNorcey to use her digital signature.
Twenty three minutes later, at 5:30 p.m., the record shows Ms. Tumaneng responded with all four letters, each bearing Ms. DeNorcey's digital signature.
Linda DeNorcey has since said she's never seen those letters, she never signed them, she wouldn't do so if placed in front of her, and that she does "not recall the call" from the governor's office to use her signature.
Who called Ms. DeNorcey on April 1 to get her signature, if a call was placed at all? Did June Borja lie to Laurie Tumaneng about DeNorcey's approval, and was this a forgery? Was she told to lie? By whom?
These are the questions some senators are expected to ask Ms. Borja, Ms. Tumaneng, and their boss, governor's legal counsel and son in law Haig Huynh, at an oversight hearing before senators on the procurement of those quarantine hotels.
The hearing begins at 5 p.m., and Kandit will be covering it live.
The two women, whom documents indicate are at the heart of the forgery scandal, work in the office of the legal counsel. They work for Mr. Huynh, whom documents also indicate conducted the illegal procurement of the hotels, to which funds were paid without so much as a price quote or certification of funds being garnered.
The four documents bearing Ms. DeNorcey's signature begin the procurement record for the hotels. These are the letters designating the Santa Fe, Days Inn, Wyndham Gardens, and Pacific Star hotels as the quarantine/isolation facilities for incoming travelers and returning residents during the public health emergency. According to the law, only Ms. DeNorcey has the power to make such a designation.
The governor's legal office discovered this oversight on April 1, when Ms. Tumaneng doctored the original March 18 designation letters signed only by Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero.
Will Huynh, Borja, and Tumaneng even show up?
Adelup sources tell Kandit News that the three Adelup workers at the heart of this issue will not show up to the oversight hearing tonight, when Sen. Sabina Perez calls it to order.
Sen. Jim Moylan on Monday wrote to Ms. Perez, lamenting Adelup's track record for evading questions, and imploring her to use her power to subpoena officials to answer questions. It was Mr. Moylan, who during a health oversight hearing by Sen. Therese Terlaje, asked Ms. DeNorcey about the forgery.
He asked Ms. DeNorcey, "Did you ever receive a call from anyone at the governor's legal office for approval of the use of your digital signature for the letters to the hotels? And if so, by whom?"
She replied, "As for the call, I do not recall the call."
Kandit asked Ms. Perez's office Monday whether she will be issuing subpoenas to Mr. Huynh, Ms. Borja, and Ms. Tumaneng. Her office has not responded to our request or follow up calls.
The oversight hearing is at the top of lawmakers's minds. Yesterday, Speaker Tina Muna Barnes called emergency session for 2:30 p.m. today to discuss several bills to address pay for front liners. Today Mr. Moylan asked Ms. Muna Barnes to ensure that session does not impede on the oversight hearing scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
The speaker agreed, telling Mr. Moylan she would recess session so senators can participate in Ms. Perez's oversight hearing.
