At one point in his legislative career, he sat in a place of
fear and promise for policy creation in Guam.
"Death Row" was a place where Senator ben Pangelinan either
helped craft modern Guam laws or put them back on the drawing board. This
cunning and polished Saipan-born politician died this week following a long
battle against cancer.
This blogger not only watched his growth at Hessler Street,
but interacted with a man who wanted only to advance his agenda for the people
of Guam. We locked horns many
times. Tactically, he would win some and
would lose some. He taught me many a
lesson about the true workings of Guam's executive and legislative
branches. To the end, he always stayed
true to his political ideology-a lesson that can be taken by all current and
future politicians of Micronesia. His
death is a certain loss for a branch that has been all but broken for the past
decade. With him goes such depth of
understanding of the island's budget and nuances of financial public policy in
the Marianas.
The accolades and praise has been coming from all over the
U.S. Territory's political spectrum.
Much I believe has been polite.
Speaker Pangelinan was the current antagonist
in discussions from Yigo to Merizo.
There is not a single individual who will soon take his place and
position on land, budget and culture at the Guam Legislature.
Many will try.
Many will fail.
Many will only wish they could have the
insight and passion for the people of Guam like Speaker ben.
Some have already likened him to some of the heavyweights in
Guam politics. While I would be the first
to downplay such veneration, his contributions will be felt well past his State
Funeral and interment and beyond this current election cycle.
Senator ben's death will certainly have an immediate impact
on the electorate between now and the Primary and General Elections this
fall. Those on the flip side of the
former Speaker's political stage better take heed. I would not be going out on a limb to compare
this political event to the death of former GOP Speaker Tony Unpingco in
October 2007. Subsequent actions and
political moves following the death of Speaker Unpingco had its impacts felt on
the elections in both 2008 and 2010.
Long gone are the days of "Death Row" with Speaker
Pangelinan, former Senator Lou Leon Guerrero, current Speaker Judy Won Pat and
Senator Tom Ada leading public policy formation from the rear of the Session Hall. The political discourse
framed the policies of a man and a body that oozed desire for serving the people
of Guam. His death allows us to consider
the weight of our actions in the voting booths in September and eventually
November. Super Tuesday may not be a
referendum on Senator ben's legacy, but will allow each in the electorate to
remember why they vote and the importance of the vote to the direction of the
island over the next couple of years.
It
is what Senator ben would have wanted.