FIRST, we would like to thank the over 200 concerned citizens who showed up to the “Our Commonwealth” rally held at the American Memorial Park amphitheatre on Jan. 26th. Your attendance, despite the heavy rains, was greatly appreciated.
Second, we would like to thank our special guest speakers: Mr. Vicente Santos, Mr. Sam Macpheters, Mr. Lino Olopai, Mr. L.J. Castro, and Ms. Florine Hoffschneider (who was unable to make it to the event, but waited patiently at the Tinian airport until the flight was cancelled due to the inclement weather). We would like to say thank you for taking time out your day to share your thoughts and knowledge. The feedback we have received from members of the community has been extremely positive and encouraging and our expectations were well met.
Third, for those who did not attend and are not quite sure who we are and what we stand for, we are “Our Commonwealth.” We are a loose coalition of concerned citizens coming from many different ethnic, social, cultural and economic backgrounds. We have gathered independent of any government endorsement and/or sponsorship. For the most part, we are a fair representation of the people of these islands. We are not for or against federalization. We are for consultation and consideration. We do not condone racism, or keeping poor people poor, we are for the citizens of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Our goal is to preserve the spirit and sanctity of the Covenant, in turn preserving our right to self government in light the ongoing issue of federalization.
We will be the first to admit that CNMI’s record has not been pristine. Our present condition is a testament to choices and decisions we have made in the past. These decisions, for better or for worse, were ours to make, and part of our right to self government as indicated in Covenant Section 101:
“The Northern Mariana Islands upon termination of the Trusteeship Agreement will become a self-governing commonwealth to be known as the “Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands”, in political union with and under the sovereignty of the United States of America.”
We must all understand that the right to self government does not guarantee correct decisions. However, the act of self government in-and-of-itself is our success. It is our success because we are in participation as a democratic community. And as a democratic community self government will always be a community learning process; for good or for bad.
That is why, when certain decisions are made that are not congruent to our relationship with the federal government, the Covenant is the tool that both sides must use to reconcile these differences and preserve the spirit that originally set the tone some thirty years ago.
The issue of federalization is larger than raising the minimum wage. It is larger than immigration reform. Federalization, in this form of application from the United States Congress, diminishes the spirit of the Covenant, and removes our right and responsibility of self government.
We cannot sit idly by, as we have been doing for so long, watching the demise of our communities, our culture, our people and now our right to govern ourselves. As we all share in the blame for our present condition, so too must we share in the solution. And the solution is to get up, take responsibility and fix our broken home. As citizens of this commonwealth and of this community, we need to part of the solution and not the problem.
The commonwealth is on the cusp of social, economic, and political change. This is our opportunity to pick up the ball we had dropped so many years ago. It is our time to demand action and results from our local government.
This is our opportunity to “earn” the respect of the federal government through dialogue and responsible self governance.
As citizens of this commonwealth, we will always share in the prosperity and the poverty resulting from our decisions. However, should we compromise our right to self government through complacency, we will have lost everything and the historical significance of our Covenant with the United States will be nothing more then a failed experiment.
So we ask you, our people of the commonwealth, stand together with us, stand united. Protect the sanctity and spirit of the Covenant. Let us fight to keep our right to self government; our right to forge a new direction under the spirit and context of the Covenant; our right to take responsibility. By doing this, we will leave behind a legacy of honor, respect and responsibility for our children to follow. We must set the example. The place is here and the time is now.
You may e-mail comments to ourcommonwealth@gmail.com

FRED PETERS DELEON GUERRERO
Capital Hill, Saipan