Godfrey S. Mendiola said he is “not scared” if the government will put him in jail for obstructing the use of a public roadway, which he claimed still belongs to his family because the government failed to pay for it.
“I can go to jail or hell. That’s not a problem with me,” he said.
Mendiola has said that he would wait for Rota to hold its annual fiesta celebration before closing the road.
This year’s fiesta took place during the Columbus Day weekend.
Yesterday, Mendiola declined to confirm when exactly will he carry out his plan.
Mendiola said he is asking Rota residents for their consideration. “They should understand our predicament,” he added.
According to Mendiola, “ancestral rights are very sacred” to his family and are “permanent,” unlike elected officials who are “just temporary.”
But he also noted that the government has already promised to address all land compensation claims in the CNMI.
Mendiola said he learned that the Department of Public Lands is working with other government agencies to find ways and means to address land compensation claims.
Last month, the House passed a legislative initiative that would amend Article XI, Section 5(g) of the NMI Constitution to authorize the Department of Public Lands to reserve 20 percent of its operational expenses to pay and satisfy land compensation claims.
Mendiola said his family is hoping the government can fast-track the identification of funds and release them to the claimants.
He is urging the Rota leadership to help facilitate the immediate release of compensation to landowners whose lands were taken by the government for public purposes.
Mendiola reiterated that his family will donate the compensation they will receive from the government to the San Francisco de Borja Church and to the Santiago Atalig Foundation, which provides scholarships to Rota students.
He said his family is demanding for just compensation for their ancestral property that the government took and leased to a hotel with neither their consent nor approval.
