Commonwealth Casino Commission Chairman Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, right, and member Mario Taitano attend a regular meeting in the commission’s conference room in Gualo Rai.
Imperial Pacific International’s human resource business partner How Yo Chi, left, and public and media affairs director Tao Xing attend the Commonwealth Casino Commission meeting on Thursday.
THE Commonwealth Casino Commission will soon decide on a “reasonable timeline” for Imperial Pacific International to pay its obligations to the CNMI government following the local Supreme Court’s decision affirming the suspension of IPI’s exclusive casino license.
The high court ordered the commission to hold a hearing to determine a new payment deadline for IPI.
IPI owes the CNMI government a total of $62 million in annual exclusive license fee, and owes the commission $14.56 million in annual regulatory fee.
IPI has not made payments to the CNMI government and the commission since 2020 when IPI shut down its casino due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
IPI representatives Tao Xing and How Yo Chi attended the commission meeting at 10 a.m. on Thursday in its Gualo Rai office conference room. The commission provided them a list of IPI’s outstanding debts.
The commission’s chairman, Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, said he thinks the CNMI Supreme Court was being mindful of IPI’s current situation, so it allowed the commission to establish a reasonable timeline for IPI to pay.
Deleon Guerrero said the timelines “will be determined by the commission in a hearing that will be open to the public.”
Asked if the commission will accept an IPI settlement offer, the chairman said, “I think we are all reasonable people.”
“I think everybody here is reasonable — we have reasonable attorneys, and no one is interested to ‘kill’ anyone,” Deleon Guerrero said, but added that IPI must pay its obligations.
If IPI pays its regulatory fee, Deleon Guerrero said it would allow the commission to pay their office rent, utility and telephone bills, and rehire employees.
As for the annual exclusive license fee, he said the CNMI government is in dire of money, especially for the payment of the retirees’ 25% benefit.
