AN EARTHQUAKE struck a portion of Guam yesterday. Centered on Adelup Point, it appeared to run along a fault line that extends from the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport to the Guam Port on Apra Harbor. Those who felt the quake felt it hard. Most of the rest of us hardly noticed.

The temblor took the form of a major shake-up of Gov. Eddie Calvo’s Cabinet. After a little over one year in office, Labor Director Leah Beth Naholowaa is out. George Santos is the new DOL director, moving over from the Department of Administration. That move alone sent some significant shaking into the community, particularly among Filipinos as Naholowaa is the current President of the Filipino Community of Guam (FCG).  Also removed was Frank Roberto who headed the Agency for Human Resources Development (AHRD) which has been left, at least temporarily, director-less.

No reason was specifically given for the changes, and in fact the outgoing labor director’s name wasn’t even included in the news release from the Governor’s Office. It had been rumored that she was in jeopardy, but this action confirmed that.

The shake-up also moves Mary Torres, wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Bobby Torres, from GIAA to the Port Authority of Guam and sends the current PAG general manager, Pedro Leon Guerrero, to the Customs and Quarantine Agency as its director. Chuck Ada, currently the administrator of Civil Defense, will head up GIAA.  Both of the port moves require agreement of the boards of GIAA and PAG, since both are autonomous agencies.  That probably will not be a problem.

Why these changes and the others reported elsewhere in this edition of the Variety? “I demand excellence from all GovGuam employees,” Gov. Calvo stated. “My staff and my Cabinet are not immune from that call. As a matter of fact, I expect even more from them.”

It was left to Chief of Staff Franklin Arriola to carry out the actions, which came after an assessment of the entire Cabinet. “We found there were people with talent that could be used better in another agency,” Arriola said. “As for others, they’re very good people, but their skill sets did not work out and were not a good fit for our operation. We roll hard,” he emphasized. “We have very high expectations. We’re demanding, not just good work, but excellence.  There’s a lot riding on our ability to provide the very best leadership possible.”

“We will not be remiss in that duty,” the chief of staff said as the shaking subsided.