Despite the deepening economic turmoil, residents interviewed by the Variety said they are grateful for the signing of the Covenant.
And while the federalization of the islands’ immigration system is a concern for some, others believe it’s about time that the commonwealth embrace the nation’s immigration law.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, who sued the U.S. government over the federalization law, urged local residents to re-affirm their commitment to the Covenant’s promise of self-government.
Fitial, who founded the Covenant Party in 2001, was among those who campaigned against the ratification of the Covenant in 1975. Almost 79 percent of local voters supported the Covenant in a referendum. Voter turnout was 95 percent.
Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, R-Saipan, said a vast majority of the local people still believe “that this political union with the U.S. is the right path.”
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said the Covenant remains a very important and relevant document for the future of the CNMI.
His father, Dr. Francisco T. Palacios, was a member of the Marianas Political Status Commission, which negotiated the drafting of the Covenant with the U.S. president’s representatives.
Fredrick Deleon Guerrero, a Legislative Bureau staffer, believes that the Covenant will continue to be important in shaping the islands’ future relations with the U.S.
Saipan Independent Rep. Tina Sablan, for her part, said the Covenant ushered in a new era.
“For me the promise of the Covenant is not only about raising our standard of living. It is also about good governance —understanding what it means to be a citizen of the commonwealth and the United States,” she said.
House Minority Leader Oscar M. Babauta, Covenant-Saipan, said the people of the commonwealth should be grateful for the Covenant.
“The Covenant allowed us to become U.S. citizens and entitled us to have U.S. passports. I believe in the founding fathers of the Covenant. They have envisioned better lives for us,” he said.
Rep. Rosemond Santos, R-Saipan, said the Covenant remains an important document.
“I don’t think they were thinking about federal issues at the signing of the Covenant. I think what was important at that time was the hope for the CNMI to grow as an entity with the guidance of the United States,” she added.
Howard Willens, the Washington, D.C. lawyer who served as the NMI’s legal counsel during the Covenant negotiations, said the U.S. got what it bargained for. He noted that the islands are again gaining military importance to the U.S.
Martin Gerbens, director of Northern Marianas College’s library programs and services, said the Covenant should be cherished.
His office has the original copies of the Covenant, or U.S. Public Law 94-24, and Presidential Proclamation 4532 that President Gerald R. Ford signed to mark the CNMI’s entry into the American political family.
The pen that Ford used to sign the Covenant is also kept at the NMC Archives.
