Sen. Juan M. Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, said he didn’t like to be “threatened.” He didn’t elaborate but added, “let us stop those kinds of attitude.”
Speaking in Chamorro, Hofschneider said their session should focus on the budget bill and not on something that the people do not support.
The Senate passed the budget bill with amendments. It will now return to the House of Representatives.
Torres said it was not the right time to embrace a Saipan casino. “If the people’s mind will change in two years or so, then let them decide through popular vote,” he added.
Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan, reiterated what the Senate resolution that he introduced months ago stated. “Let us respect the decision of the majority,” he said, referring to the result of the 2007 elections when Saipan’s voters rejected the casino initiative.
Tinian Mayor Ramon M. Dela Cruz, in a statement, acknowledged the pressure applied on the senators to pass the controversial bill which, he added, is contrary to the will of the people. “The people of Saipan have already spoken loud and clear against casino gambling on their island,” he said.
The Legislature should respect the people’s decision, he added.
According to the mayor, it is also inappropriate to say that the Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino is closing soon just to gain support for the Saipan casino bill.
He said the problems Tinian Dynasty is facing are the result of Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s failure to keep his promise to develop the island’s airport.
Tinian Dynasty general manager Tom Liu said they were very pleased to hear the result of the vote and thanked the senators for rejecting the bill.
“It is very difficult for Tinian Dynasty to be facing something like this,” he said, adding that the bill discourages potential investors for Tinian and Rota, which has also legalized casino gaming.
“Just imagine how this issue hurts our people,” he said. Although things are “not getting easy,” the Tinian casino is still surviving, he added.
In a separate interview, the bill’s author, Speaker Froilan C. Tenorio, said the Senate vote was a “blessing in disguise.”
“It gives potential [casino] investors a clearer view of how to push this proposal,” he added.
Tenorio, Covenant-Saipan, said next year, they will solicit signatures for a popular initiative, which will become law if approved by two-thirds of the island’s voters.
He said a law enacted by the Legislature is easy to repeal, unlike a law approved by voters themselves.
The initiative, unlike his bill, will only benefit Saipan and not Tinian and Rota, he added.
