“A statesman, historian, and author, former Senator Tony Palomo did much for his island and to preserve the history of the Chamorro people. Using his own resources, he safely preserved artifacts after Supertyphoon Pongsona damaged the exhibit area in Adelup. Further, he was among the professionals who drafted the executive order that started the work on the museum.”
– Governor Eddie Baza Calvo
Executive Order 2016-03 honors contributions of “Antonio M. Palomo”
Governor Eddie Baza Calvo today signed Executive Order 2016-03, which names the museum in HagÃ¥tña, the “Senator Antonio ‘Tony’ M. Palomo Guam and Chamorro Educational Facility”.
Governor Calvo spoke with the late senator’s wife and son, Margaret and Simeon Palomo. They both stated their family’s desire to honor this husband and father.
“Senator Tony Ada intended to name the museum after the former senator and introduced Bill 230 to do that,” Governor Calvo stated. “However, 8 senators amended the bill, essentially stripping the honor from this son of Guam.”
Sen. Ada has withdrawn the bill, which no longer accomplishes his intent because of the amendment.
The Governor’s Executive Order notes how Sen. Palomo oversaw the operations of the exhibit at Adelup until its closure in 2002 due to the damage from Typhoon Pongsona.
“Senator Antonio M. Palomo’s family always helped him, such as assisting in the transport of the Adelup exhibit to Tiyan. With the closure of the Adelup exhibit, Antonio M. Palomo partnered with the Guam Premier Outlets to open a satellite exhibit in 2003. Then the Guam Museum moved its satellite exhibit to the Micronesia Mall from 2004 to 2008,” the order states.
“During this time, between GPO and the mall exhibits, approximately 300,000 people visited the Guam Museum’s satellite exhibit. Despite the brick and mortar of a permanent museum, Antonio M. Palomo managed to keep the mission alive in promoting the rich history of the people of Guam.”
In addition to that, the former senator worked with other scholars, including Dr. Katherine Aguon, to prepare Executive Order 2005-17. That executive order established the Guam Museum Facilities Construction and Cultural Heritage Task Force. Task force members worked with government agencies to reach the goal of building a museum that would serve as a permanent home to many of the collected archives and artifacts – allowing them to be placed on display for the community to see and learn from.