HOUSE Minority Leader Tina Sablan on Tuesday said the governor can and should address the “inhumane” actions that are affecting Imperial Pacific International employees.
Sablan mentioned IPI’s six missed pay periods, payroll delays, back pay of former employees, repatriation issues for former employees wishing to return to their homelands, as well as employee dormitory issues.
Last week, she said, the power and water at the IPI housing units were cut.
After visiting the IPI employees over the weekend, she learned that there was still no power or water, despite IPI promising the casino commission on Tuesday last week that the employees would be relocated to housing units that had utilities.
Sablan said the employees had not bathed in five days, the bathrooms were disgusting, the trash was piling up, the bushes outside were overgrown, and some of the employees were developing rashes and skin conditions.
She said employees who had come to Saipan to work and earn money to send home to their families were instead begging their family members to send them money.
Now their families are having to scrape together money just so that these employees can live here, she added.
Sablan said the employees have just run out of drinking water, which is basic for human life.
Thanks to generous donors, such as local non-profit organizations, these employees were able to get some relief supplies, she added.
“But clearly, this is not a sustainable or acceptable situation,” Sablan said.
On Monday night, she said she was informed that power was finally restored to the housing units of the Turkish workers.
However, she said it is now the Taiwanese and Mongolian workers who do not have utilities.
“These are not safe, decent, or habitable conditions for any human being…. We cannot ignore the humanitarian crisis that is happening here. There is so much suffering. There is no doubt about that,” she said.
As for the former IPI employees, she said they are stuck on Saipan with no other way of earning an income while still awaiting income that is owed to them.
“They have no family to rely on. Many of them don’t even speak English and just want to go home,” Sablan said.
The governor has been completely silent about this crisis, she added.
“I am frankly just deeply saddened and ashamed. Honestly, I’m ashamed at how these people are being treated, and I think many of us may feel the same sense of helplessness,” she said.
She reiterated that IPI is “not paying anybody: workers, vendors, the government. But why do they continue to have this license? Why are we continuing to entertain and give them more extensions and give them an audience to ask for more concessions from this government?”
She added, “We really do need, at this point, to take drastic executive action, in my opinion. The governor is an enforcer. He holds enforcement authority over this license.”
The casino commission has been holding hearings on whether or not to revoke the IPI license because of its numerous violations.
However, IPI does not even have an attorney who can represent them at these hearings, Sablan said, adding that IPI has asked for another extension so it can find an attorney.
“But what does that mean for the human beings that are truly suffering in our islands? How can we help them? They are surviving with the charity and the generosity of our nonprofit organizations and so many kind and generous members of our community. This situation cannot go on forever.”
Sablan said the House should meet with IPI and engage with the governor regarding these matters.
“[The governor] is not helpless in this situation. He has the power to act,” she added.
Asked for comment, Press Secretary Kevin Bautista issued the following statement:
“”First and foremost, the Congresswoman does not mention any specific executive action to take and under what statutory or administrative authority. The Governor and the Commonwealth Casino Commission have been following the administrative procedures act, as provided by law. There is a statutory process put in place. If she wants to remove the due process provided to holders of CNMI permits and licenses, then she has the authority to propose such amendments as a legislator. Yet, she has not provided any legislative solution.
“Regarding the workers, the Governor and the administration have not been blind to this situation, as the Congresswoman suggests. In fact, the administration engaged with some of these worker groups through their representatives and collaborated with local non-profit organizations to provide assistance. If the Congresswoman would like to engage with IPI directly in the upcoming Legislature, she is in a position to do so. The administration through the CCC and other enforcement agencies have done the work of holding IPI accountable, whether it be building code enforcement through the Department of Public Works, monitoring facilities through the CCC, and the permitting process that every business has to go through. The administration has offered solutions to hold bad actors in check and to reform the permitting process to make it easier to do business through the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, which has seen great progress in the beautification of our tourist sites and the diversification of our economy. We hope the Congresswoman can be a part of the solution moving forward.”
