The word war between Palau Public Utilities Corporation (PPUC) Chairman of the Board Sam Masang and Senator Rukebai Inabo continue, as they accused each other of official misconduct.
Inabo, in her March 4 letter to Masang, said she has not committed any official misconduct when she negotiated for a housing allowance during her role as PPUC’s CEO.
In her response, Inabo showed no indication that she will return funds nor is she backing down from the fight with Masang.
“Calling an employment contract fraudulent, making it sound like it is illegal to pay the benefits specified in the contract is truly a false pretense that you should be sued for as libel. Make sure filing a lawsuit is not an unnecessary waste of time and would not be a waste of public funds on your part just to cover up your apparent conflict of interest,” Inabo stated.
Inabo also reiterated that the Senate is moving forward with its aim to remove him as chair of PPUC.
“As elected officials charged with the responsibility to protect the public interest, it would be a breach of duty if we were to look away and let you continue to be a member of the PPUC Board of Directors,” Inabo stated. On his part, Masang accused Inabo of illegally obtaining funds from PPUC to pay for her personal loans and threatened to file a lawsuit against her if she fails to return the funds.
In another salvo against Inabo, Masang “appealed” to the senator to resign from her position.
“I humbly ask you to resign as Senator to safe (sic) the integrity of the Senate as a sacred institution before people will recall you,” Masang said.
The embattled PPUC chair said Inabo is purportedly using her position as a senator to hide her alleged illegal activity committed years ago when she was PPUC CEO.