Governor Juan N. Babauta has ordered the re-negotiation of the lease agreement between the Department of Labor and Immigration and Sablan Construction Co. Ltd.
Babauta said acting Labor and Immigration Secretary Joaquin A. Tenorio reported that DOLI pays $446,940 in annual rental fees to Sablan Construction, or a monthly rent of $37,245.
On Jan. 31, the governor issued a directive to department and agency heads, ordering them to reduce by 5 percent their office rental expenses within 60 days.
Tenorio has sought the administration’s assistance to help address DOLI’s high rental fees.
Attorney General Robert T. Torres will meet with Tenorio this week to expedite the review of the lease agreement and begin a re-negotiation.
Reducing DOLI’s rental fees will contribute greatly to the administration’s austerity efforts, Torres said.
Tenorio also wants to reduce the annual rental fees for DOLI’s detention facility from $55,000 to $47,000.
Further, Tenorio will reduce the travel spending of DOLI officials and employees to $4,000 from $15,000.
The Transition Committee in its report cited “several discrepancies” in the lease agreement.
