(Editor's note: This is the twelfth in an expose of the members of the Commonwealth Legislature, who have taken monthly allowances on top of their salaries)
CHAPTER 12: Vinnie Sablan
By Jacob Nakamura
(Tumon, Guam) Sen. Vinnie Sablan of Saipan took $15,780 in legislative allowances in 2019. He ran as an independent, but switched his allegiance to the Republican Party and began caucusing with them upon assumption of office.
Like his independent colleagues, though, Mr. Sablan agreed to the disclosure of the receipts of his purchases, and Kandit has been prepared to inspect the documents. However, the senator informed us that his staff continues its compilation of the receipts.
On February 19, 2019, Mr. Sablan requested his first allowance: $2,000. Two months later he adjusted the February amount upward by an additional $1,000.
He skipped allowances in March, April, and May before taking a $700 allowance in June 2019, skipping July, then taking a $1,000 allowance in August.
The senator took a $580 allowance in September, $3,000 in October, the maximum $5,000 in November, then $2,500 in December.
