ULUDONG ANSWERS GOV. ADACHI ON VP DEBATE

September 25, 2016

Gov. Yositaka Adachi

Candidate for Vice President

Dear Candidate Adachi:

This is a response to your letter of  September 21, 2016 (Wednesday) that I never received up to now but only saw it last Saturday, September 24,  three days later,   in the   opinion   page of  the Friday (9/23/16) edition of the  Island Times newspaper and I understand it is in the Facebook.  I notice also  that you only addressed  the letter   to me and PMC but not to Director of Development, Tchuzie  Tadao  and PCC  which  was the co-sponsor  of  the debate and took  part in the planning and  decision making on all aspects of the  debate    since the beginning.

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I also want to know why attack me and PMC   a week after the debate. It‘s over and damage had been done and you are bringing it back. You will pay dearly for this in term of votes.

I can see  also that you did not intend to send  me the letter  but only to publicize  it in the other newspaper and  the Facebook  in order   to justify your  running away from   the September 15 VP debate.  It is also clear  that you never intended  to  take part in the   debate  because  either you were afraid to be whipped  publicly by Sen. Oilouch who is  more  educated,  more informed,  good debater as an attorney. Or maybe  you were afraid of possible  questions by the media and students  about uses of Koror  government funds and employees  to  campaign in the last one year in Palau, Guam, and elsewhere or even questions about leasing Koror public lands and waters  to your nephews, nieces,  other relatives, state  employees, or your cronies and their children.

If your memory has failed, let me remind you that the debate was originally set for August 30 but it was you who requested to postpone in your August 25 letter.  You had said it was such   a short notice and also expressed concerns over the order of speakers, all candidates must take part and your representative must be  in the entire planning of the debate. PMC and PCC met and decided to postpone it to accommodate you.

A meeting was held on August 30 and the Koror State Government Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Ernest Ongidobel who appears to be your campaign manager while serving as a government employee, showed up. He  made four  demands   that you  1) want to review all questions; 2) will  participate only  if all candidates take part; 3) Diaz and no other is to film film debate; 4) you will be the last speaker.   None of candidates for president and vice president of Palau in debates   since first national election in 1980 has ever made such demands to debate sponsors.  Even President Obama did not make such demands to USA media   in the debates with Mitt Romney in the 2012 USA election. We are not stupid, we know you were afraid to take part in the debate and you should have been man enough to say it from day one.

Still PMC and PCC took your concerns as well as those from the other two candidates under advisement and after several meetings, rescheduled the debate for September 15, 2015. Your representative   was invited to the planning meeting prior to the debate and he did not show up. The debate was   left open for you and other candidates to participate. We had hoped that you will come to your sense and take part as the people were waiting to hear from you.  You and the other candidate decided to stay away and as a result, it turned into a one-candidate forum not because of PMC or PCC or my relationship with Mr. Oilouch but because of you.

Why did you not just say no in the first place and instead waited until a week after and few days before election and blamed me.

 For your information, I have been away for over two weeks from September 5-21 and did not participate in the meetings of PMC and PCC with representatives of the candidates when the final decision was made on new debate schedule.  So accusing me of staging the debate to benefit my cousin, Sen. Raynold Oilouch, is outright false and is cover-up for your running away from facing him.  When a bully knows he is going to be whipped, he runs.

Yes, Sen. Oilouch is my close relative as my father is older brother of his father and my mother is an auntie of his mother. And yes, I support him not because he is my relative but because he has articulated a  better platform and  better ideas and  has more knowledge about the VP position  and is able to do the job . He has higher education and more knowledge    about the law and government and has proven himself as a lawyer for MLSC, in private practice, and as a senator for eight years. But more so he is humble and hard working, not arrogant and dictatorial. He   came from a poor family in Ngechesar, not from highest clans of Koror and Ngeremlengu or a well-to-do family in Koror but rose to his position   now because of hard work and wits.  And he is going to top  Tuesday election also  because  he had   visited practically every home and family in Palau  from Kayangel to Angaur and  has  personally talked to more people than you and has seen  their living conditions  and can better understand and  represent them as vice president and minister.

You of all the people should know Sen. Oilouch because he is a good lawyer and had represented and won cases for KSPLA as Koror attorney.   You must have    reviewed   the case files or attended the land hearings and saw him in action when he won many cases for KSPLA. May be that is why you are afraid to face him in a debate before TV cameras.  Governor, you are no match to Sen. Oilouch and you know it. And I do not need to rig a debate for him as he will win on his own as you will see in the Tuesday election.

In your letter you also   mentioned another   debate after the primary election being organized by the Chamber of Commerce and the Bar Association and that you are a  part of the debate  planning.  I am a member of the Bar and I have asked the officers and they confirmed that   you were never part of the debate planning. Furthermore you did not make such demands to them as you did to PMC and PCC. And by the way, are you sure there will a vice president debate after the primary?

I notice the arrogance, sense of power, and condescending tone of your letter.   I guess after trashing the members of the highest clan of Koror and traditional leaders of the state for many years along with winning three gubernatorial election, power can get into one’s head. Please understand that the media in Palau stand for higher purposes and goals and will not be intimidated by your power and position in the Koror State Government which will end in December of 2017.    

 PMC and PCC have no other motive in sponsoring the debate except   to provide an opportunity for the people of Palau to know the characters, thoughts, ideas, and platforms of those who aspire to public offices   before they elect them. The people have the right to know their leaders and government and have freedom to express themselves in elections. This is the only way  to prevent corruption, nepotism, abuse of power and misuse of  public funds in state governments as well as the national government    and to assure transparency,  openness, and accountability  in governance   so that   freedom  and democracy will prevail in this young Republic .

Sincerely,

/s/Moses Uludong

 

Cc   Dr. Patrick Tellei, PCC

Tchuzie Tadao, PCC

Island Times

PMC Board Members [/restrict]