~Former VSA Minister says he paid the political price for refusing — Claims doctor approval and appointment were among flashpoints~
PHILIPSBURG:--- Former Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) Richinel Brug has broken his silence and placed explosive allegations squarely on Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina, claiming his removal from office followed his refusal to carry out requests he considered unethical and illegal.
Brug, who lost Parliament's confidence in an 8-7 vote on May 29, said in an extensive radio interview that his removal was not about his performance as minister but stemmed from a fundamental dispute between him, Mercelina, and the board of the Unified Resilient Sint Maarten Movement (URSM).
“I believe that I did absolutely nothing wrong,” Brug declared, maintaining that he provided Members of Parliament with documents supporting the case he presented against the Prime Minister before the vote that ended his tenure.
Brug went considerably further during the interview.
According to the former minister, he was asked to do things he considered outside the governing program and contrary to Sint Maarten's interests.
“I can only say it's only because of things that were asked of me that were unethical and illegal that I was asked to perform,” Brug said.
“I refused to do so.”
He said that refusal ultimately made the political relationship untenable.
Brug maintained that some requests came directly from the Prime Minister, while others allegedly reached members of his staff. According to Brug, staff members reported certain matters to him because they considered the requests unethical. Brug said he then sought clarity, including by approaching the Integrity Chamber, and said an inquiry remained underway at the time of the interview.
His position was unequivocal: “If it's not in the best interest of St. Martin, it's not going to happen. Not with my signature.”
BRUG GETS SPECIFIC
Later in the interview, Brug identified what he said were examples of the conduct at the heart of the political breakdown.
He alleged that he was not responsible for refusing to place a minister’s document on the Council of Ministers agenda.
He further alleged that he was asked to sign off concerning a doctor whom he said was “not really qualified,” despite objections he attributed to the Department of Public Health and a public-health commission.
Brug also alleged there was an attempt to place an individual in a specific position without following proper procedures.
“I was the one that stood up against all that I previously mentioned,” Brug said. “I stood up for integrity. I stood up for work, and I paid for it.”
Brug made these serious allegations during the interview. The material provided to SMN News does not independently establish that the alleged requests were unlawful, nor does it contain the Prime Minister’s response to each of Brug’s specific allegations.
But Brug is not retreating.
Instead, months after his removal, the former minister is publicly framing his departure as the price he paid for refusing to compromise his standards.
“There’s a price to pay for integrity,” Brug said. “And I am paying it.”
He added that if confronted with the same circumstances again, he would make the same decision.
“DEFINITELY” BETRAYED
Asked directly whether he felt betrayed, Brug responded: “Definitely.”
Asked whether that betrayal was political, his answer was again: “Definitely.”
The former minister said his removal was particularly painful because he spent about a decade pursuing elected office before finally getting the chance to serve. He argued that his ministerial performance was never the real issue and credited his cabinet and civil servants for the work accomplished during his tenure.
Brug also pointed to URSM’s involvement as a troubling part of the episode, claiming the party board became actively involved in efforts to have him removed.
He described that level of involvement by a political party board in the running of government as “very dangerous.”
The former minister said URSM first asked him to resign, but he refused because he believed resigning could create the impression that he had committed wrongdoing.
Instead, Brug took the confrontation to Parliament, where he said he placed his documents and arguments before elected representatives.
The result was an 8-7 vote of no confidence.
“LOWERING YOUR STANDARDS” BY GOING TO THE PEOPLE?
Brug also revealed an extraordinary exchange he said occurred as he sought to make the VSA Minister more accessible to ordinary residents.
He explained that his plan was not to permanently abandon the Government Administration Building, but to spend several days each week operating from districts so residents could access their minister more easily.
Brug said he wanted mechanics, garbage collectors and other working people who could not easily navigate appointments and formal government offices to be able to walk into a community help desk and speak directly with him.
According to Brug, when he explained that plan to one of URSM’s founders, he was told: “You’re lowering your standards.”
Brug said that moment convinced him he did not belong in the party.
“I am lowering my standard because I want to go and meet the people in their community, in their homes,” he recalled incredulously.
POLITICAL CAREER FAR FROM OVER
If anyone believed the May 29 vote ended Brug’s political career, he says they should think again.
The former minister confirmed that he intends to contest the next election, although he has not decided under which political banner.
He said several political parties have approached him about joining their lists, while supporters have encouraged him to establish his own political party.
Brug said forming his own party remains under consideration and has not been ruled out.
“Come next election, I will be one of those persons on a list,” he declared.
Brug's return to the public stage now creates a political problem that cannot simply be buried beneath the May 29 vote.
He has publicly alleged that people asked him to do things he considered unethical and illegal. He has identified specific categories of decisions he says he refused to approve. He claims he provided supporting documentation to Parliament. He says he asked the Integrity Chamber to examine matters arising from the dispute.
Those allegations now stand in the public domain.
Whether Brug's account ultimately survives independent scrutiny is a separate question. But after months of relative silence, the former VSA Minister has made one thing abundantly clear: he does not intend to allow the public record to say simply that Parliament lost confidence in him.
His version is dramatically different.
Brug says he lost his ministry because he refused to surrender his signature.
“If it had to happen again,” Brug declared, “I'll do it again. Same way.”
