“I argued like hell against federalization,” he told officials of the Philippines General Consulate and Overseas Labor Office during the signing of the CNMI-Philippine Friendship Week proclamation.
The governor narrated the evolution of the guest workers program and his efforts to bring in foreign workers and investors to the commonwealth.
“I was misunderstood,” Fitial said, referring to his position against the federalization law.
The governor said as the then-speaker of the House he introduced the foreign investment law that became Public Law 3-11.
To complement this law, Fitial said he also introduced the Nonresident Workers Act, or Public Law 3-66, to address the need for skilled workers in the CNMI.
“I recognized the lack of skilled workers here,” the governor said.
When the NMI was still a Trust Territory there was no private sector development on the islands, the governor said.
It was only when the foreign investment law was enacted following the establishment of the commonwealth that investments started to come in, he added.
Fitial said he was able to bring in investors from Japan.
The federalization of local immigration, he said, aims to end the guest workers program, which, he added, is detrimental to the local economy.
“But even with the federalization of immigration I will continue to fight against the eradication of the guest workers program,” he said.
According to Fitial, the federal government should not “ruin” local labor and immigration policies.
