The key term here, of course, is “education.”
To the CNMI Legislature: Over the past 14 months I have offered multiple solutions for your considerations in an effort to not only address your concerns, but to move the program forward. I continue to be open to discussion whenever you are willing to do more than just find a “quick fix.”
Returning to “the good old days” is simply going in the wrong direction.
Finally, I am perplexed as to why Senator Reyes and a few other lawmakers continue to insist that P.L. 15-25 and the tuition that I must charge has created a community of non-licensed drivers in the CNMI. If that were the case, then adopting legislation that attempts to appease these individuals is counter-productive.
Individuals who are driving on the streets of the CNMI without a license are, in reality, breaking the law. The solution: education. We teach “respect for the rule of law” as part of our curriculum.
The students are encouraged to be “part of the solution”; not “part of the problem”. Those individuals who enroll into my course are doing just that. They are choosing to obey the laws that were, in fact, drafted by these lawmakers.
RICH PUHALLA
ISTS-Driver Training Academy
Susupe, Saipan
