Saipan Mayor RB Camacho, far right, meets with residents of Precinct 2 in the William S. Reyes Elementary School cafeteria on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.
SAIPAN Mayor Ramon B. Camacho held the first public village meeting on Wednesday in the William S. Reyes Elementary School cafeteria in Chalan Kanoa from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
In attendance were community members of Precinct 2.
Camacho said he plans to visit all precincts of Saipan to promote his platform of a “safe community, safe village, and clean island.”
On Wednesday, he began the meeting with the announcement that plans are underway to form neighborhood watch programs for each village on Saipan. The program may have at least one liaison from each village as an intermediary between the neighborhood watch program and his office. Plans are still under development, however.
“I am calling each and every one of you to join this group,” Camacho said.
“What really prompted me to come out with this in the community is that I’ve been driving around [and] I’ve been getting a lot of concerns …. The solution to this problem in the community is you,” he added. “Let’s not wait for the criminals to [get ahead] of us.”
He urged community members to “build your relationship with your neighbor” as a safety net.
“In a dying situation, [where] you’re alone in your house, at that moment you need help, you have kids but they’re not with you, at that moment, now the question [is] who could be your lifesaver?”
He asked residents to consider participating in the Adopt-a-Place program as well.
In his remarks, Camacho also mentioned his meetings with religious and ethnic group leaders as well as businesspersons to discuss the Adopt-a-Place program and their concerns.
During the question-and-answer portion of the meeting on Wednesday, a resident of Chalan Kanoa said his street has a stray dog problem, despite the mayor’s Dog Control Program vehicles patrolling the area.
He also called on the mayor to enforce Public Law 21-31, the anti-animal cruelty bill, which, among other things, makes it illegal to “knowingly or intentionally” abandon an animal.
