Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, said he was also concerned about the CNMI’s dying retirement system.
“While I have always been opposed to the establishment of the Saipan casino, it appears now more than ever that we need to take a look at the casino because it is not just an adjudication of land claims but it also a matter of tool — the only viable tool that can save the Retirement Fund,” he said in an interview after a session of the Saipan and Northern Island Legislative Delegation that was attended by landowners and their families.
The delegation chairman Rep. Ray A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan, gave them the chance to address lawmakers.
Former Commonwealth Retirement Association president Juan Sablan spoke first, informing lawmakers that a family in Sta. Lourdes who had not been paid their land compensation would block the road there.
Elbert Quitugua, whose family is owed $98,000 in land compensation, stepped forward and confirmed this. He told the Saipan lawmakers that if the government doesn’t pay them, they have no choice but to take back their property.
A portion of the property that belonged to Quitugua’s parents was turned into a public road.
Nick Flores Norita, who was accompanied by many members of his family in the gallery, brought a chart of his family tree and reminded the lawmakers of the $11.4 million the government owes them for taking the 6,855-square meter land that belonged to his great-grandmother Maria Mangabau.
“I am pleading you members of the Legislature and delegation if you can look how the government can pay us even little by little. We are not asking for one-time pay because we know about the economic crisis,” he said.
By using their property as a road, the government may have earned millions of dollars over the last several years, “but we never received a penny. So please consider us,” Norita said.
Former Tinian Rep. Edwin Aldan, a fifth generation member of Norita’s clan, also made the same plea.
Their family tree shows that there are 375 of them.
Reyes said the message these families gave them is loud and clear. The situation has reached a critical point, he added.
“If roads are closed I don’t how else we can solve the problem other than paying the persons who rightfully owned them,” he said.
Reyes said the Legislature members must explore ways to address the problem.
He noted that the Saipan casino bill also has a provision that would bring the government work hours back to 80.
“We need to be concerned about that, too. It’s time that we wake up and smell the coffee,” he said.
He said the worsening financial problems of the CNMI will also affect all retirees, including those on Tinian and Rota.
“What else can we do?” he asked.
He said if a Saipan casino is the only alternative then, “we need to take a look at that. We cannot ignore it because by ignoring it we ignore the health and welfare of all those who have retired and all those who are still members of the Retirement Fund. The time has come when we cannot ignore the casino proposal. We have to be realistic. If the casino is the answer, then, I am reasonable enough to abandon my position against casino.”
Reyes said he will support the recommendation to add a provision in the casino bill that requires settlement of unpaid land compensation claims.
In a separate interview, Sen. Ralph DLG Torres, R-Saipan, said: “I’m looking into the bill.”
The measure, House Bill 17-240, is now with the Senate which last year rejected similar legislation.
The Senate is dominated by members from Rota and Tinian who both have struggling casinos.
Torres said the Senate Committee on Federal Relations and Independent Agencies will come up with a recommendation on the casino “very soon.”
The committee, he said will meet in the next few days to discuss the new casino measure.
He said he is very concerned about the issues raised by landowners but he is also concerned about the other issues involved in the legalization of casinos on Saipan.
