By Emmanuel T. Erediano
emmanuel@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Legislature is urging Gov. David M. Apatang to execute the $29 million loan agreement with the Marianas Public Land Trust “without the need for further legislative action,” calling the trustees’ conditions “extraneous” to the financing effort.
In a joint letter, Senate President Karl King-Nabors and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez asked the governor to act immediately on the proposed loan authorized by Public Law 24-13, which they said “sets the interest parameters and designates MPLT’s net annual distributable income as security for repayment.”
With P.L. 24-13 in place, the presiding officers told the governor that both the executive branch and MPLT have clear statutory authority to execute the loan agreement without further legislative action.
When signing P.L. 24-13 last week, the governor urged the Legislature to pass a bill giving MPLT discretion to collateralize securities, as requested by the trustees.
King-Nabors and Villagomez expressed concern that continued delays in securing the $29 million loan could jeopardize the government’s ability to meet its obligations to the NMI Settlement Fund for 75% of retirees’ pensions and destabilize fiscal planning. They noted that P.L. 24-13 already provides an indemnification mechanism.
“The Legislature reaffirms that MPLT may and should negotiate the loan’s terms — such as repayment schedule, interest accrual, and drawdown procedures — within the parameters of P.L. 24-13,” the letter said.
They emphasized that “ancillary administrative provisions unrelated to the financing itself” should not obstruct or delay the execution of the loan agreement. “The intent of the Legislature in P.L. 24-13 is straightforward: to authorize the loan and pledge MPLT distributable income as repayment security,” the presiding officers said.
“That purpose should not be sidetracked by conditions extraneous to the financing,” King-Nabors and Villagomez said, reiterating that the governor, on behalf of the Commonwealth, must immediately finalize the loan agreement consistent with P.L. 24-13.
They added that negotiations must focus on essential loan terms and not be burdened with extraneous conditions concerning the Department of Public Lands or other matters. The presiding officers also urged that a progress report on the matter be provided within 30 days, including a timeline for execution.
Aside from a margin transaction with a brokerage firm to collateralize securities to protect the corpus, MPLT set a condition to prohibit DPL from withholding any funds for reserves at any time, ensuring that all net income due for remittance be submitted to MPLT within 60 days after the end of each fiscal year.
