THE Commonwealth Casino Commission told Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita that the central government, which will pay the commissioners a total of $250,000 in backpay, still owes them $291,666.
Public Law 24-1 or the revised fiscal year 2025 budget allotted $250,000 for the commissioner’s annual salary in 2023.
The commission’s chairman, Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, vice chairman, Rafael S. Demapan, Commissioner Mario Taitano, and former Commissioners Ramon S. Dela Cruz of Tinian and Martin Mendiola of Rota, stand to receive $44,583.34 each, while Thomas A. Manglona, who was sworn in in October 2024 to fill the seat of Mendiola, will receive $27,083.30.
The terms of Dela Cruz and Mendiola expired last year.
In his letter to Norita last week, Demapan reminded her that a casino commissioner’s compensation is $65,000 annually. The backpay provided by P.L. 24-1 represents only 69% of what the government owes, Demapan said.
He said that in 2023, the commissioners were supposed to receive $65,000 each. But since they will now only receive $44,583.67 each, the government still owes them $20,416.66 each for 2023 alone.
Demapan’s breakdown also indicated that, for 2024, the government owes him, Deleon Guerrero and Taitano $48,750 each; Dela Cruz and Mendiola $5,416.67 each; and Manglona, $16,250.
For 2025, Demapan said the government owes all the current four commissioners $10,833.33 each.
He asked Norita “to please issue payments to [the] Commissioners for their services already rendered,” referring to the amount allotted by P.L. 24-1.
P.L. 18-56, which legalized casino gaming on Saipan, allows the commissioners to receive compensation from the annual regulatory fee collected from the lone license holder, the Imperial Pacific International. For nearly five years, however, IPI has failed to meet its obligations to the government and is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings in federal court.
Correction: An earlier version of this news story incorrectly stated the name of the new commissioner from Rota as Thomas A. Manglona II; the correct name is Thomas A. Manglona.
