Former Rep. Alvaro A. Santos, MPLT chairman, said the 4,000 sq. m. land area was bought for $68 per sq. m. from Vicente and Martina Camacho on Capital Hill.
“MPLT has finally made a decision, after several futile efforts to secure a permanent building and location, to acquire its own land and to build a permanent office space as well as adding several other office spaces for rental to generate revenue,” Santos said.
The total cost of the purchase is $700,000, which includes the architectural design and construction of the building.
Former Speaker Oscar C. Rasa, CNMI Descent for Self-Government and Indigenous Rights spokesman and adviser, questioned the propriety of MPLT’s using the “money of indigenous people to purchase private land” when there are public lands available.
Rasa said his group may seek a temporary restraining order from the court to stop MPLT from completing the land transaction.
“The public should be informed,” Rasa told Variety.
Santos said MPLT has been contemplating having its own office space since 2003 and made several attempts to acquire a government building on public land, but these efforts were not successful.
A building given to MPLT four years ago was “recalled” while another facility required substantial renovation cost and could not be used by MPLT beyond five years, Santos said.
“MPLT is different from other government agencies,” he said. “It is the only constitutionally created agency in the CNMI with a constitutional mandate to invest public land lease monies and support the government general fund through these earnings.”
He said MPLT “has been in existence for the last 24 years but it still doesn’t have a permanent office and has been leasing for office space for the longest time.”
MPLT’s purchase of land, he added, is an “investment venture” that will allow the agency to “save on rental payments, generate revenue from rentals on office spaces, and increase the value of its assets.”
