Arnold I. Palacios
GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Tuesday told reporters that “no company in its right mind” would have signed the Managaha Island Master Concession Operator Agreement between the Department of Public Lands and Marianas Global Inc., a Korea-based investment company.
“Have you seen the contract? … That is the Number 1 issue. Are you kidding me? You’re going to sign an $800,000 contract annually plus 9% of your gross?” Palacios said.
DPL has given MGI up to Oct. 26 to vacate the exclusive concession area on Managaha.
Acting DPL Secretary Richard Villagomez has issued a notice of termination citing MGI’s “failure to cure” violations of the Managaha Island Master Concession Operator Agreement “within 30 days.” The termination notice was addressed to MGI Chief Executive Officer Young Hee Yoon.
DPL said MGI has not paid rent in the amount of $800,000 plus interest of $12,000, for a total of $812,000.
According to the governor, it is important for DPL to “take a look at what is a reasonable [agreement] to [ensure a] lasting operation in Managaha, one that provides safety and enjoyment, and…keeps the place clean for our locals and visitors.”
He said the contract “could have been thought of differently. I even shared my opinion on it. But this contract was signed predating me so when I saw the contract, I could see that this was going to be an issue, and this is probably why the company is having problems now. They wanted to monopolize every activity going on out there and that didn’t sit well with the operators and a lot of the people,” Palacios said.
When told that the contract was signed on April 18, 2023, Palacios, who was sworn in as governor on Jan. 9, 2023, said he was referring to the “negotiations” prior to the signing of the agreement.
Palacios said, “At the end of the day, the agreement has to be complied with.”
“Obviously, that is an issue that as you all well know, they were having all kinds of problems, and they were having a real controversy with marine operators. But the DPL is also obligated to ensure that whatever agreement is signed has to be complied with. They [MGI] obviously didn’t pay their rental fee and it’s DPL’s obligation as an agency and representative of the community to make sure that whatever is agreed to is complied with,” the governor said.
DPL will now have to oversee Managaha’s operations, he added.
“DPL is going to step in, they were already operating [it] when the previous operator left so they already have a crew ready to step in. For the lifeguard issue, if we have to hire lifeguards, then we will hire lifeguards until we can get a company to operate it,” he said, referring to Managaha.
