Senate confirmation hearings for CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios' appointees continued at the CNMI legislature today.

Pedro Itibus was the first to be questioned by senators about his appointment to the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation board. Itibus previously worked as a law enforcement officer and as the former secretary Department of Public Lands.

"Let me be honest with you, I do not have any experience in power generation but I am willing to learn," he said. "I will seek and listen to those expert."

Ross Manglona is the governor's pick to head the Office of Indigenous Affairs. Manglona previously worked at 500Sailsn, the Northern Marianas Technical Institute, and Northern Marianas College. 

"The CNMI is currently in a financial slump as we all are aware," he said. "We intend on acquiring outside funding to continue providing meaningful services. We may not be able to hire as we would like to, so I plan on contracting out to vendors as opposed to hiring directly."

The Senate committee will file a report to the full body, which will vote on the nominees at a later date. The next committee hearing is on March 8 for Department of Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres and Labor Secretary Leila Staffler.