The proponents claim they have collected over 5,000 signatures supporting the proposal. We have no doubt, however, that if the anti-monument camp decides to launch its own vigorous, sustained and well-funded petition signing campaign, it can gather an equal, if not a greater, number of signatures. Nothing prevents those who have signed the monument petition to sign a petition against it. Indeed, anyone can sign a petition — including those who have no stake in this controversial issue.
And that is why a functional democracy does not make important decisions based on petitions. No four-page colored ads can change that fact. Under the CNMI initiative process, the signatures on a petition have to be examined by the AG’s Office. The signatures must comply with a set of criteria. Once a petition is legally certified then it has to be placed on the ballot and must get the support of a certain number of voters.
There is, in other words, only one way to determine the wishes of the CNMI people regarding the monument proposal and that is through the ballot box.
But it seems that the proponents want their monument now, or at least before President Bush leaves the White House in January. Why rush it? If the monument is good for the CNMI, as its proponents claim, then surely the local people will support it. All they want is more time to study it and to have a say on a decision that will forever affect their islands and their children’s future. This is a sensitive and emotional issue for the indigenous people.
The White House says it wants to consult with the local community before it makes a decision. But if the Bush administration means what it says, then it should realize by now that the monument is not a “slam dunk” for the CNMI.
The monument proponents must not impose their deadline on the commonwealth. The indigenous people of these islands — not the feds and certainly not Pew — have the right to make their own decision regarding their homeland.
THE Retirement Fund reports that its investments haven’t fared well even as its officials renew their request for payment of the government’s obligations.
Too many people, to be sure, depend on the Fund’s ability to adequately plan, invest and pay its members based on predictable outlays and regular payments from the CNMI government. Yet the executive branch transmitted a budget that did not include payments to the Fund, which is a violation of local law and puts the Fund in jeopardy.
Rather than seek a bond that this bankrupt government cannot get, the Fund should insist on obtaining payments from the executive branch.
The Fund earlier filed a gratuitous lawsuit in Superior Court, where it sits, unresolved, like the lawsuit filed against CUC a few years ago. There is an inherent conflict of interest in filing the Retirement Fund suit in the local courts, as all the judges are beneficiaries of the Fund. And this is why the agency should instead seek remedies in the federal court.
All eyes on CHC
CRUSHING power rates have forced many small businesses to close, and left many people without power. It is hard to imagine how the executive branch is managing to pay all its bills with the number of business closures that have occurred.
But some businesses are managing to survive and they appear to have some connection to the hospital. There is a new private ambulance service to replace the old one as well as new medical schools. Nursing internships from the Philippines and South Korea have arrived to take advantage of some program that the public knows nothing about.
How does all of this work? Who is getting paid what? How is this beneficial to the public?
Western medical training programs are in demand and there might be a good business model here for the CNMI, but the prevailing view is that the health of the general public may be at risk, not only because there is no transparency and competent management at the Department of Public Health, but cost considerations are also trumping other concerns, including quality and reliable healthcare.
