The Northern Marianas is losing dozens of important legal and historical documents due to the CNMI government’s inability to fully support the needs of the islands’ only archives.
According to CNMI Archivist Herbert S. Del Rosario, the office of the CNMI Archives at Northern Marianas College has a “leaking problem.”
Del Rosario said some historical materials got wet due to rainwater leaks.
“When it rains, it comes into the building. Many times, the materials got wet. But we cannot control that because this is an old building. This used to be the former nursing building and it does not meet the requirements for maintaining records and microfilm,” Del Rosario said.
“I am very much disturbed by the fact that (the CNMI government) does not give its 100 percent support (to the archives). All we’re asking is a little support in the area of facility because we need to preserve and protect the records of the government,” he added.
Much of the valuable documents regarding the islands’ political status are already gone, he said.
Del Rosario said his office does not have the original copy of the First Constitutional Convention and they do not know where it is.
“What I have now is just a copy. We really need a building to preserve the records,” he said.
Voluminous documents about the Legislature and laws passed prior to 1986 were also lost when Saipan was struck by typhoon Kim that year.
Before the disaster struck, Del Rosario said they asked the Legislature to turn over valuable documents.
“I requested the Legislature to transfer their documents to the archives for a long time but they never did. They never sent them to us until typhoon Kim came in 1986 and destroyed the Legislative Building and all their records and important documents,” Del Rosario said.
“They can never be replaced again. You cannot find documents to replace them. Some (memories of) important events that happened in the Legislature are still here, but most of them are gone,” he added.
The law mandates that all government agencies must provide the archives with copies of all their publications, including minutes of all meetings and official actions.
Public Law 8-18 states that NMC will provide support, as staff and funding may allow, to the archives. However, due to NMC’s limited budget, there are no additional funding for the archives.
In 1987, the archives obtained a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior. This money was used to buy four sets of microfilm and other equipment.
“Interior seems to be more concerned than the CNMI government,” Del Rosario said.
“Now, we’re getting little by little from the CNMI government but it’s not enough,” he added.
