THE Commonwealth Casino Commission may no longer issue a stay on the revocation case against Imperial Pacific International, Commissioner Mario Taitano said on Tuesday.
In an interview, he said that in a meeting last month, they agreed to inform the U.S. Supreme Court that the commission would issue a stay on the revocation case against IPI due to a lack of quorum.
Right now, the five-seat regulatory body has three members only: its chairman, Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, vice chairman Ralph S. Demapan and Taitano.
Unless it has four members, which is enough to constitute a quorum, the commission cannot proceed with the hearing to revoke IPI’s exclusive casino license, Taitano said.
Casino Commission Executive Director Andrew Yeom filed the revocation case against IPI for failure to pay its dues: the annual casino license fee and the annual regulatory fee.
On Monday, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios nominated Thomas A. Manglona to represent Rota on the commission. Manglona is a former Rota seaport manager of the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
Taitano said he is happy that the governor has appointed a new casino commissioner. Once the Senate confirms Manglona, the commission can hear the revocation case against IPI, Taitano added.
IPI now owes the CNMI government close to $80 million in unpaid casino license and regulatory fees from 2020 to 2023.
IPI, which faces several lawsuits in federal and local courts, shut down its casino in March 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
