By Nancy I. Maanao
(Tumon, Guam) The Commonwealth reimbursed Gov. Ralph Torres another $2,669.24 in 2017 following another round of shopping and dining sprees he supposedly went on. What has come to be customary in our findings of his misuse of public money are the hundreds of dollars spent at restaurants, shopping at Joeten supermarkets, and even supposed gift items for visitors.
However, this reimbursement memo, filed November 28, 2017, shows two anomolies.
The first is a receipt from the Home Depot Guam. On November 11, 2017, Mr. Torres purchased a $119 chainsaw and a 2-pack replacement chain for $143. He even purchased a fancy wheelbarrow called a Worx Aerocart for $139.
It's hard to imagine how he hand-carried or checked in these items at the airport on his way back to Saipan.
The other peculiar entry is for a $111.00 reimbursement for food purchased at the Narita International Airport, with the justification "Hosting Japanese Investor." No other information is provided, except for the receipt; no name or company name is provided.
However, in order for this entry to be true, the so-called and unnamed Japanese investor would have to have purchased a ticket to leave Japan, checked in at the airport then travelled through Narita's massive terminals in order to meet Mr. Torres inside the controlled terminal areas.
Despite the fluid revelations of evidence of these abuses of power and misuse of public funds, the Commonwealth Legislature has not yet set any hearings to investigate and impeach the governor.
You may see the reimbursement memo and corresponding receipts below:
