An opposition lawmaker in the Norther Marianas has questioned continued extensions to the state of emergency declaration nearly a year after Super Typhoon Yutu.
A school building is damaged after Super Typhoon Yutu Photo: RNZ Pacific / Mark Rabago
Tina Sablan said she was worried that the governor's monthly extension of the declaration left government funds open to abuse.
Her concern was that money could be moved around with minimal oversight and transparency under the guise of the emergency, she said.
Governor Ralph Torres initially signed the emergency declaration for the CNMI in late October 2018 in the wake of Category 5 typhoon, which wrought havoc on its islands.
