GOVERNOR Ralph DLG Torres on Thursday morning signed into law House Bill 22-95 to provide each CNMI government retiree a $1,000 bonus.
Authored by Rep. Donald M. Manglona, H.B. 22-95 is now Public Law 22-17.
Joining the governor were retirees Pedro “Pange” Pangelinan, Jesus Taisague and Bertilia Camacho John. Also witnessing the signing of the bill were Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan, House Minority Leader Angel Demapan, and Reps. Joseph Leepan Guerrero, Roy Ada and Joseph Flores.
The governor, who requested lawmakers to authorize the bonus on Dec. 14, 2021, thanked the retirees “for their patience throughout these past several months.”
“I would like them to know that moving forward, I will continue to make them a priority,” the governor said.
He added that he has been working with Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig who, in turn, “has been in communication with the NMI Settlement Fund to get this well-deserved bonus out for our retirees as soon as possible.”
The governor noted that the bonus was supposed to have been released before Christmas last year.
He thanked the House minority bloc and the Senate for their “leadership and the decisions they made throughout this process,” as well as their “dedication to the retirees.”
Demapan also thanked the retirees for their patience while the bonus legislation was going back and forth between the House and the Senate.
“We would’ve liked to see these payments get to them last December as proposed by the governor, but ultimately, it required legislative action before that could be possible. Nonetheless, the day has come and the bonus is now a reality. We look forward to these payments getting to our retirees to provide some much needed relief to them and their families,” Demapan said.
The retiree-bonus bill was passed by the Senate with amendments last week. On Wednesday, the House unanimously passed the Senate version of the bill.
P.L. 22-17 taps the following funds for the retirees’ bonuses:
• $39,052 reserved for the double-dipping period liability that may be owed to a former House member.
• $50,000 for the Office of Planning and Development’s feasibility study on the casino gaming industry.
• $156,550 for Micronesian Legal Services.
• $2.6 million for the within-grade increase due the 1,458 government employees of various agencies.
The original House version included the reappropriation of $858,006 allotted for the Marianas Visitors Authority and $66,660 in discretionary funds for the governor’s office. These were removed by the Senate.
The House, for its part, did not include the 100% reprogramming authority for the governor earlier approved by the Senate.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, center, with CNMI retirees Pedro “Pange” Pangelinan, second left, Jesus Taisague, third left, and Bertilla Camacho John, fourth left. Also in photo are Rep. Roy Ada, Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Flores, House Minority Leader Angel Demapan Reps. Joseph Leepan Guerrero and Joseph Flores.
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signs Public Law 22-17 which will provide each CNMI government retiree a $1,000 bonus. Looking on are retirees Pedro “Pange” Pangelinan and Jesus Taisague in the governor’s conference room Thursday.
