by Mindy Aguon

Guam - An investigation into alleged improprieties and corruption at the Port Authority of Guam is just one of several probes that have been launched by the agency's board of directors in recent months. After receiving numerous claims of nepotism and other hiring irregularities at the Port Authority of Guam, the board sought the assistance of the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Administration to further investigate. The first batch of hiring has been audited and the findings show problems with some of the hiring at the autonomous agency.

Separate and apart from an ongoing investigation into allegations and evidence of improprieties and corruption at the Port Authority that has resulted in notices of proposed adverse action being given to several employees, the Port board has been reviewing some of the hiring that has occurred in recent months. "When we had ordered back in may the questions and allegations of nepotism, we ordered management to send all of that information down for a complete audit with the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Administration," said chairman Dan Tydingco. "Those audits are taking place to ensure that the whole process is not compromised that the integrity remains inside."

Tony Lamorena, the Civil Service Commission's executive director, confirms that three months ago, the Port board sought their assistance in conducting post audits on seven new hires. "We did receive seven applications from them. We did a full review and presented it to the board and there were some discrepancies with those applications," he explained.

Tydingco added, "The CSC has recently come back to us and said there were some serious mistakes on the part of the Port's Human Resources Division. You have to correct those."

Lamorena says the problems surrounded qualifications, stating, "Of the seven the ones that we are critically looking at this point are about four of them that we felt did not meet the minimum qualifications necessary as per the job description so we brought that to the attention of the Port Authority, and they were supposed to come back to us to see what their plan is to resolve the issue."

Port management has until mid-January to develop that plan. The Commission didn't provide recommendations, but Lamorena says there are several options on how management can deal with the improper hires, which includes terminating the individuals who would now be classified employees because they have exceeded the government's probationary period. "Those are some alternatives that you mentioned in so far as one do you find them another position that they do qualify for or do you terminate them? so again they have to come back to us in mid-January to tell us what their plan is," he said.

Lamorena confirms with KUAM News that some of the positions that were improperly hired included accountants and stevedoring. He explained, "The Civil Service Commission is that we protect the merit system, so that's where the board in their findings told the Port Authority management to conduct their version of the plan on how to resolve the matter."

While the CSC waits for the Port's plan for the four hires, the Commission is expecting to receive another batch of hires of post-audits from the Port to determine if more recent hiring at the agency bypassed the merit system as well.