“I would like to go home but I prefer to stay because I might not be able to provide for my children enough support for their education and food,” a teary-eyed Noel Saluta told Variety.
He said he and his wife are still hoping to find jobs.
Mr. Saluta has been unemployed since April 2007 while his wife lost her job in 2003.
Both filed labor cases but that of Mrs. Saluta, a former garment worker, has already been resolved. She has an umbrella permit.
Mr. Saluta, whose application for an umbrella permit was denied, said he is still pursuing his unpaid wages from Aqualite, where he worked as a water salesman.
Support
They had been staying at the Susupe Beach Park but several individuals offered them temporary shelter yesterday.
Mr. Saluta said a lot of local people have been offering them assistance.
Ed Mendiola brought food while Dr. Carmen Fernandez, the former Northern Marianas College president, was helping the family get whatever government assistance they could receive.
Fernandez said she was able to arrange for the temporary shelter of the family at the Sun Palace Hotel.
She said the hotel’s Shirley Kim agreed to provide the family three days of free accommodations.
Fernandez said she also talked with Karidat Executive Director Angie Deleon Guerrero to inquire of the support the charitable organization can offer to the family.
“The local people have been very kind and supportive,” Mr. Saluta said.
Ben Sablan of Ben Enterprises, he added, also offered them a house to stay.
A representative of Tan Holdings met with the Saluta family and offered them shelter at the Finasisu Airport Hotel.
Rita Carreon, San Antonio Elementary School teacher, her friends, Commonwealth Health Center epidemiologist Edward Diaz and other local residents also visited the family at the Susupe park to provide assistance.
The Salvation Army gave boxes of food, Mr. Saluta said.
He said the Philippine Consulate General and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration office have also sent a representative to talk to them.
His family rented an apartment in Chalan Kanoa through the housing aid program of the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems Inc.
After the housing benefits expired on Aug. 15, 2010, the family sought “temporary shelter” at the Susupe park.
Rabby Syed, United Workers Movement NMI president, said he will ask NMPASI to again extend housing assistance to the Saluta family.
Syed fears that more families will face the plight of the Salutas due to the islands’ worsening economy.
Noel Saluta, 39, arrived on Saipan in 1997. His wife arrived in 1994.
Their children are 7, 6, 4, 2 years old and 6 months old.
