Introduced by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, and Sen. Jovita M. Taimanao, Ind.-Rota, Senate Joint Resolution 17-15 expresses the CNMI’s support for Guam’s struggle for self-determination and its people’s decision once they hold a political status plebiscite.
With Sen. Luis P. Crisostimo, Ind.-Saipn, absent, all the eight senators voted to adopt S.J.R 17-15.
Reyes said the resolution has nothing to do with Marianas reunification but is an act of a neighboring island’s sentiment.
The people of Guam, he added, have been seeking a better relationship with the U.S., something the CNMI people enjoy right now.
Guam remains on the United Nations’ list of “non-self-governing territories.”
According to the joint resolution, Guam has been trying to address its political status and has also been requesting full support from other members of the Pacific Island family.
Unlike the Northern Marianas, whose people voted to become part of the U.S. by ratifying the Covenant in 1975, Guam has never held a political status plebiscite.
Senate President Paul A. Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said in an interview that Guam and the Northern Marianas are part of the same archipelago.
“We understand what they are going through and their struggle for self-determination,” he said.
Manglona said he knows that Guam has been longing for something similar to what the CNMI has.
The people of Guam, he said, must be allowed to decide their island’s political status.
