[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 7, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





           HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF EDWARD PANGELINAN

                                 ______
                                 

                  HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN

                    of the northern mariana islands

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 7, 2023

  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life and legacy of 
the Honorable Edward De Leon Guerrero Pangelinan, a founding father of 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who passed away on 
February 3.
  Mr. Pangelinan was the very first Chamorro from the Northern Marianas 
to graduate from law school and, so, became the natural leader of our 
islands in seeking to end the post-World War II United Nations 
Trusteeship and to become part of the United States. As Chairman of the 
Marianas Political Status Commission, Mr. Pangelinan with his fellow 
Commissioners successfully negotiated the Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 
the United States of America, which was approved by plebiscite in 1975 
and codified in federal law the following year.
  His work as reflected in the Covenant agreement then led to United 
States citizenship for the people of the Marianas during the 
Administration of President Ronald Reagan and, ultimately, to their 
representation here in the United States Congress.
  Edward Pangelinan's work on behalf of the Marianas did not end with 
the Covenant. In 1978, he was elected to be our first Resident 
Representative to the United States, a position that advocated for and 
foreshadowed representation in Congress. In 1985, President Ronald 
Reagan appointed Mr. Pangelinan to the Northern Mariana Islands 
Commission on Federal Laws, where he helped identity areas of the law 
that should be amended in light of the inclusion of the Marianas into 
the United States. Later he served as legal counsel and special advisor 
to Resident Representative Juan N. Babauta and then as advisor to 
Resident Representative Pete A. Tenorio before retiring from public 
service in 2009.
  Throughout his life, Edward Pangelinan worked tirelessly to bring 
respect and equity to the indigenous Chamorro and Carolinian 
communities of the Marianas. In addition to the successes he achieved 
for his people, Mr. Pangelinan will also be remembered for his 
unfalteringly optimistic approach to public service. No matter how long 
the days, or difficult the fights, Mr. Pangelinan by his example will 
always remind us that change--slow or even impossible though it may 
seem--can and will happen through perseverance.
  Few people use their lives to make as enduring and beneficial an 
impact on the lives of others as did the Honorable Edward De Leon 
Guerrero Pangelinan. Please join me in recognizing Mr. Pangelinan's 
outstanding contributions to the people of the Northern Mariana Islands 
as we honor his memory.

                          ____________________