By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Marianas Visitors Authority board of directors on Thursday unanimously approved a motion authorizing management to submit a formal request to the Apatang-Mendiola administration seeking exemption from reduced work hours mandated under the governor’s austerity directive.
To address the fiscal year 2026 budget shortfall, Gov. David M. Apatang issued Directive 2026-8 on Oct. 1, implementing austerity measures that include shortened government work hours, furloughs, and reductions in force.
On Thursday, MVA board member Joe Guerrero introduced a motion directing management to seek an exemption as soon as possible.
“I would like to direct our management team to come up with a plan — an impact analysis on the reduction of hours, not just the dollar impact on the budget but also the impact on results,” Guerrero said. “Once we have that report, I think we should discuss it and then seek an audience with the administration to explain why we may need an exemption and what it would look like.”
The motion was supported by board chair Warren Villagomez, vice chair Vicky Benavente, and board members Marvin Guerrero (via teleconference), Dennis Seo, and Sachiko Gerrard.
Guerrero emphasized the operational strain caused by reduced hours, citing delays in communication with source markets. “Every position is key, but some are really critical,” he said. “Like Thomas Kim, for example — he had to work less, and now people in Korea are waiting for him to respond. It slows down decision-making, which slows results. We could be in a worse situation.”
Benavente added, “You do not reduce staff hours based on the economic urgency we’re facing. This team works even on weekends and holidays — they need to keep working.”
Seo echoed the concern: “We must increase tourism demand. It’s difficult to specify which positions shouldn’t be here for economic recovery.”
Villagomez agreed: “The urgency, the communication — you can’t expect people to work on a Saturday when they’re off. Your hours are cut, and it limits productivity.”
In the meantime, MVA will comply with the directive, according to Managing Director Jamika Taijeron. “Out of respect for the directive, we have reduced our hours, starting last Monday,” she said.
Taijeron explained the impact: “The executive order reduces full-time employees’ hours from 80 per pay period to 70. That’s already a 10-hour reduction. On weeks with a holiday, it drops to 63 hours, and in one pay period with two holidays, employees may only receive 56 hours. Just the 10-hour decrease per [pay] period is [already] financially straining on our staff.”
To maximize productivity, she recommended MVA staff on Tinian and Rota begin work at 7:30 a.m., and Saipan staff at 8 a.m. She also noted that the upcoming Oct. 13 holiday, originally unpaid under the directive, will now be treated as a paid holiday.
Separately, the board approved a $3.8 million budget for fiscal year 2026 on the condition that if additional funds or resources are identified, then the board will reconvene to revise the budget.
The board also entered executive session to discuss advertising and marketing allocations, as well as Air Service Opportunities and Strategies. Guerrero clarified that the closed-door discussions were necessary to protect the sensitive nature of certain contracts.
“We needed to discuss requirements pertaining to these contracts and others across markets with our legal counsel,” he said.
