There were eight speakers, four in favor of retaining Article XII and another four speakers who favor the repealing Article XII.
After listening to both sides of the argument, I began thinking about some of the statements made and questions that arose during the deliberation. It was clear to me that the speakers favoring the retention of Article XII were concern that if Article XII were to be repealed, we will lose the most dear and precious asset that we have, land.
Opinions were also expressed that if we repeal Article XII, we will eventually be without land and will have nothing left to give to our future generations. Here are some of the reasons given as to why Article XII must not be repealed:
A) We will lose our culture;
B) Our island is too small and if we sell it, we have nothing to pass down to our next generation.
C) We will be exploited by outsiders.
D) The hotels are still operating even when the economy is low, so keep Article XII.
The following are my thoughts in addressing the four points stated above. Please bear with me and read on as I believe you will have a better understanding of the situation at hand:
A)I looked up the meaning of the word “culture” in Oxford dictionary. It means (1) the art and other manifestation of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. (2) the customs, civilization, and achievements of a particular time or people. I fail to see how one would lose his or her culture. While I agree that we should retain some of our culture, we can still do anything with our land (keep it, sell it, lease it or give it away) and still have our culture.
While we are discussing “culture,” let us dwell further into it.
a) “Respect” is a phenomenon in our culture. Nothing should prevent a person from practicing his or her culture even if that person owns no land. There are hundreds of families who have been waiting for decades to get Homestead land but are presently landless. Does that mean they could not practice the Chamorro or Carolinian culture because they do not own land?
b) The “kustumbren” Chamorro is to give substantially larger tract of land to the youngest son in the family; and convey no land female children. The explanation given was that the female children will eventually marry and their husbands are responsible to accommodate their land needs. I understand this to be one our cultural heritage. This cultural phenomenon should be re-examined. Although the owner has the right to do whatever he wants to do with his land, I don’t think it is not fair that female children would be by-passed up in land ownership.
c)The Carolinians have a custom where the land remains in the name of the original owner and all the off-springs would only have “use right.” If the Carolinians want to keep this system as part of their culture, it might be okay but in this modern days and age, we might want to revisit the practicality of such custom/culture. Problems occurred when the Micronesian Claims Commission was paying the claims for war damages and the Commission was unable to pay the rightful land owner because he was no longer living. The living children and grand children ended up going to court for legal determination on how the money was to split among the living. Do we really want to continue to exist under these consequential circumstances?
B) No one will unduly take advantage of you unless you allow them to do so. I am aware of a situation where a person was so disparately in need of money and had to sell his/her land far below the marketable value of the land. We can only assume that the land was purchased by NMD since “outsiders cannot buy and own land.” Who is “exploiting” who in this case?
C) CCART-XII group takes the position that — First off, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LEASE OR SELL YOUR LAND IF YOU DON’T WANT. If, however, you are interesting in either leasing or selling your land and an “outsider” is involved in the transaction, I suggest you get someone who is knowledgeable in land transaction and get him on your side to protect your interest if you are not sure of yourself. Alternatively, get yourself a lawyer. Have your land appraised by a certified, licensed land appraiser. The only person that you need to satisfy is “Y-O-U.”
D) The hotel owners in the CNMI have invested millions of dollars in these hotels. Most of the hotels are on public lands. The government receives substantial annual rent that goes into the Public Land Trust account. In the early days of our economic development we were fortunate that investors favored investing in the CNMI to enhance our economy. The CNMI was actively competing in the world tourism market. The investors saw the opportunity and took advantage of it. With ever changing tourism economy worldwide, the CNMI is becoming an unattractive place to invest. The hotels in Saipan are experiencing a low occupancy rates. The airlines like Continental are no longer attracted to the CNMI. Other airlines presently serving Saipan provide erratic air services.
The hotels that were construction in early seventies are extremely reluctant to make further investment or any major renovation in their hotels since the leases will soon expire and the needed investment to “spruce up” the hotels is prohibitive.
To those prospective investors that have considered investing in the CNMI have essentially found Guam to be more attractive since they can purchase land, invest in millions of dollars and are comfortable pouring money into their investment because they own the land. Will we see investors pouring money into the CNMI? Maybe but few and far between.
Here is what I understand the position of the CITIZENS FOR CHANGE IN ARTICLE XII (CCART-12). We want to abolish/repeal Article XII because it is destructive to every person living in this Commonwealth. The blood quantum is going to touch everyone on these islands. As members of your family marry someone who do not qualify as NMD, THAT PERSON WILL EVENTUALLY LOSE THE RIGHT TO OWN LAND HIS OR HER PARENTS AND FOREFATHERS HAVE HANDED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS.
Some of our high school graduates will seek higher education and would probably go to the U.S. mainland.
Some will probably marry someone (NON-NMD) they meet while attending post secondary educational institutions. Their children will commence the process of losing their right to land intended for them to own. We are not telling you what to do with your land. You can keep it; sell it; lease it, give it away. BUT please think what is going to happen when your future generations are no longer qualified as NMD.
If Article XII of our Constitution is not repealed, we will all eventually lose our RIGHT to own and reign over our own private land. Don’t take my word for it…. Get a copy of the CNMI Constitution and read the sections in Article XII.
DAVID MANGARERO SABLAN
Papago, Saipan
//
