THE Department of Commerce said it needed a $2.7 million budget for fiscal year 2024 but was allotted only $1.7 million in Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ budget submission.
At the House Ways and Means Committee’s budget hearing on Thursday, acting Commerce Secretary Francisco Cabrera said, due to the CNMI government’s financial condition, his department will live within its means, based on the governor’s budget proposal.
The department’s current budget is $1.4 million, the largest portion of which is for personnel costs.
Also appearing before the House committee were Central Statistics Division Director Justin Andrews, acting Banking Administrator and Insurance Licensing Officer Charlotte Borja, Alcohol, Beverage, Tobacco and Betelnut Control Division Director David Maratita, Registrar of Corporations Remy Mafnas, Economic Development Director Marianne Santos, Commerce Administrative Manager Charlene Tenorio, and Enforcement and Compliance Division’s Enforcement Officer Jesse Chong.
Cabrera told the committee chaired by Rep. Ralph N. Yumul that his department’s mission is to ensure that “the policies and procedures governing the conduct of doing business in the Commonwealth promote sustainable economic growth, stimulate economic development and diversification, and provide a fair and equitable business environment in which both private and foreign businesses, and ultimately the people of the Commonwealth, may prosper.”
He said Commerce also provides technical assistance, administrative guidance and support to the resident departments on Tinian and Rota.
Cabrera said with a $1.7 million budget for FY 2024, Commerce “will make do of the available resources and hope that equitable adjustments can be made…in the new fiscal year, when the government’s financial conditions improve.”
