Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — “If you want people to respect you, you have to respect them first. We are leaders, and our job is to lead our people with good examples. We were elected to serve our people and this country with love and respect, and to protect the integrity of the Fono.”

This was the strong message from Vice Speaker Rep. Fetu Fetui Jr when he led the House session last week.

“I’ve been witnessing some of the events going on inside this chamber for a few days and how several representatives behave — even the way they present their issues. As chairman of the House Rules Committee, it’s my duty to make sure that we are on the same page and all representatives are in compliance with House rules at all times.”

Fetu’s comments were in response to an issue raised by Rep. Gene Luaitaua Pan regarding the poor service by an employee of the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASCTA) when he called for help with phone internet service.

According to Luaitaua, he called and asked an ASTCA employee why his phone internet was disconnected and the employee hung up on him.

When he called two days later, the person who answered his call asked him to bring his phone in so they could look have a look.

“They should have given me this answer in the first place,” Luaitaua said, while holding his phone up with his right hand.

“The person who answered my first call failed to do her job and I want a hearing with ASTCA so they can tell us why they did not answer my first call in a good manner.”

Rep. Gafatasi Afalava echoed Luaitaua’s statement and said customer service is one of the biggest problems in almost every government department. He said some employees do not understand how to deal with the public, especially leaders when they call for assistance.

“These employees need to respect members of the Fono because they are leaders of the country,” Gafatasi told the chamber.

Fetu disagreed. He said a true leader is one who respects another, first. He mentioned a phrase from the Scriptures: “patience involves a good attitude.”

Fetu reminded his colleagues that the reason why each standing committee conducts hearings with government officials, is to find solutions for the many problems the whole country is facing, and not for the benefit of one person.

“If a representative wants people to respect him/ her as a faipule, that faipule needs to show his/ her respect for the people first. Don’t ask people to respect you because you were elected to be a servant for the people, not to be served by the people,” Fetu said, adding that he does not want a committee hearing to discuss the issue Rep. Luaitaua raised.

Fetu advised lawmakers to make sure they speak with respect every time they present issues inside the chamber, and to keep the integrity of the Fono every time they discuss issues with leaders of government.

“There were things that happened in the last two weeks that I have been witnessing and I don’t want these things to happen again. Keep in mind that we're are all elected representatives, and our job is to voice issues that benefit our district and the people of Tutuila and Manu’a.”

He said each of them should understand their role during committee hearings, because the responsibilities are clearly spelled out in the House Rules.

A reference was made to a war of words that erupted in the House chamber two weeks ago between Rep. Vesiai Poyer Samuelu and Rep. Titiali’i Kitara Vaiau following a hearing with officials from the Dept. of Human and Social Services (DHSS) to discuss food stamps. (See story for details in Mar. 21st issue of Samoa News)

After the hearing, words were exchanged between Vesiai and Titiali’i about the chair’s behavior during the hearing, which ended with Titiali’i swearing at Vesiai and challenging him to step outside for a fist fight if he wanted to test him.

Rep. Larry Sanitoa asked Fetu to consider the Resolution he introduced last month regarding House Rules, and to bring it to the floor for discussion.

The Resolution, according to Sanitoa, not only covers the issue of faipule behavior but also talks about media coverage during house sessions and hearings. Sanitoa told Fetu if there are no committee hearings, then bring the Resolution to the chamber so the House can have a chance to discuss it.

Several faipule who spoke to Samoa News regarding the issue said the Vice Speaker — as the House Rules committee chairman — must enforce House rules and penalize those who are not complying with them.