Shawn Raymundo, and Steve Limtiaco

Pacific Daily News

The former head of the local veterans office has filed a series of government claims in the hopes of getting reimbursed for almost $100,000 he says he spent to cover the agency’s operations and equipment expenses for a year.

Martin Manglona, who stepped down as Guam Veterans Affairs Office administrator in May after having survived a stroke, said he spent $98,717 of his own money during the 12 months he was in charge because the agency didn’t have enough funding.

He used his money for dozens of different types of expenses, such as renting backhoes to dig graves, buying silicone to seal crypts, and performing maintenance on official vehicles.

“We had to operate, but we had no money, so I used my own money,” Manglona said.

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When Manglona was appointed to the position in May 2015, he said the office only had $1,200 in its accounts — about $300 in the veterans affairs fund and $900 in the cemetery fund.

The first time Manglona used his personal funds to cover an office expense was around the time he took over. After seeing raw sewage in front of the VA office in Asan, he said Adelup advised him that as long as the cost for repairs was less than $15,000, he didn’t need to get any price quotes.

Manglona found Danny Park Construction to repair the sewer line for $14,800. But without the budget to pay for the repairs, Manglona paid for it, believing the office faced a potential lawsuit if it failed to pay the contractor.

“If I don’t, I’m gonna have a lawsuit,” he said. “That’s why I paid it.”

Reimbursement promise

After that, Manglona continued to front the bill on other expenses that were needed to keep the office operational and run the Guam Veterans Cemetery. Manglona added Gov. Eddie Calvo was aware of what was happening and that Adelup promised to reimburse him.

As of Friday, Adelup officials hadn't read over Manglona's claims and said they couldn't comment on the issue.

While Manglona states that he was promised compensation, his filed claims acknowledge he didn’t receive any agreement from Adelup in writing.

“The governor is a good man,” Manglona said, adding he believes Calvo will keep his promise to reimburse him for the costs.

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Claims submitted

But, as a precaution, Manglona decided to file three government claims so they’d be officially on the books before it was too late to submit them.

The first of the three claims calls for a reimbursement of $15,730 that was used to fund the maintenance and operation of the VA office. Another $68,187, Manglona said, is owed to him for the maintenance, operation and equipping of the Guam Veterans Cemetery. The remaining $14,800 is for the sewer line repair.

He said he was able to pay for the items himself because he has a successful business and his wife also works.

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OPA report

Manglona’s claims for reimbursement come on the heels of the Office of Public Accountability’s latest audit on the local VA office that said the agency has grossly mismanaged its finances. The audit also recommends the VA office shouldn’t be allowed to handle nonappropriated funds.

While the OPA didn’t find evidence that the VA intentionally misused its funds, the lack of supporting documents for payments prompted the auditing office to question the validity of certain spending. One instance of the VA’s poor record keeping, the OPA reported, was a $290,000 expenditure with no supporting documentation.

The report examined finances between Oct. 1, 2011 and May 31, 2016.

Manglona on Friday said the financial problems the OPA cited had occurred before his appointment to the VA Office, in May 2015, and contended the OPA never audited the office during his tenure.

Unpaid workers

Prior to his resignation, Manglona had spoken with the media, stating that he'd used his own money to compensate several staffers who weren’t getting paid because of errors in their employment processing. About seven individuals who Manglona had hired to work for the VA office hadn’t been getting paid and weren't properly processed with DOA and the Bureau of Budget and Management Research.

Sen. Tom Ada, chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, called for an oversight hearing so Manglona and the Department of Administration could explain why VA staff weren’t getting paid for their work.

Manglona isn't seeking compensation for covering the personnel costs.

Ada and other senators, including Vice Speaker Benjamin Cruz and Sen. Frank Aguon Jr., grilled Manglona over his decision to allow the employees to work when their processing wasn’t complete.

Ada, Cruz and Aguon are all running for re-election.

Manglona said he needed the personnel and wouldn’t be able to do his job if he had to comply with the bureaucratic procedures.

“There’s no way I can do my job if I don’t have personnel. … What happens if someone comes down to the cemetery? What do you want me to do, turn him back?” Manglona asked. “So if we follow the law, how could I accomplish the mission? We have to use common sense.”