AG’s Abandonment of Organic Act Duty Threatens Simon Sanchez Reconstruction and Other Critical Public Services, Projects

Hagåtña, Guam - Critical public services and projects remain in limbo as a result of the Attorney General of Guam withdrawing from representation of 22 Government of Guam agencies. The Organic Act of Guam mandates that "The Attorney General of Guam shall be the Chief Legal Officer of the Government of Guam." 48 USC § 1421g (d)(1).

One of the projects impacted is the effort to rebuild Simon Sanchez High School. The Attorney General's Office has erroneously stated in the media that they are waiting for the Department of Public Works (DPW) to solicit proposals. Solicitation of proposals has already been published and in fact last month, DPW received six responses to the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Construction Manager for the multimillion-dollar project. However, procurement remains in a holding pattern because DPW cannot proceed with the next step which is a review of those six proposals without legal representation from their Organic Act mandated legal representative, Attorney General Douglas Moylan.

AG Moylan has erroneously stated that he has created what he calls a "workaround" for providing legal services. This is false. The truth is AG Moylan has concocted an illegal "workaround" that violates Guam procurement laws, the Organic Act of Guam, and his ethical obligations under the Guam Rules of Professional Conduct. This is why the Administration has sought a legal determination from the Supreme Court of Guam. The Administration remains confident the courts will find that the AG's self-proclaimed "workaround" is illegal and he has no authority, right, or legal ability to abandon his Organic Act duty to be the Chief Legal Officer for the Government of Guam.

In the meantime, a finite pool of skilled labor is being committed to other long-term projects and the Simon Sanchez High School community continues to wait. The Simon Sanchez High School project is just the tip of the iceberg if AG Moylan continues to abandon his post.

###