In a resolution adopted by the board Wednesday, the CRA is urging Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to instruct the Secretary of Finance “to diligently and conscientiously monitor daily receipts of funds received by the government and from which appropriate substantial amounts for remittance to the Retirement Fund as required by the court order.”
The resolution, approved unanimously by the CRA board members present on Wednesday, was signed and attested by CRA chairman Lorenzo DLG Cabrera and CRA secretary Jocelyn F. Deleon Guerrero.
Other CRA directors present were Dr. Helen Taro, Manny Tenorio, Sapuro Rayphand, Oscar Camacho, and Agnes McPhetres.
During the meeting, the board discussed that the resolution intended to urge the governor to instruct the Finance secretary to monitor receipts of payments for the purpose of ascertaining amounts that can be used to satisfy the judgment entered into by the Superior Court on June 29, 2009.
The resolution acknowledged that the government employees have been faithfully making their contributions and the employer, the CNMI government, has not been making its contribution as to the amount and in timely manner as required by law.
“The failure of the employer to live to the letter and spirit of the law has put the program in a precarious situation thus invoking a widespread feeling of apprehension and panic among retirees,” the resolution stated.
In his transmittal letter to accompany the CRA approved resolution read to CRA board directors by Deleon Guererro, Cabrera stated additional suggestions.
Cabrera wrote urging the governor to include in his instructions to the Finance secretary the designee from among the staff, to work with the designee from the Retirement Fund and carry out several tasks.
He asked for the review of court judgment to segregate the amounts due and owed to the Retirement Fund.
This should include amounts due from unpaid employer contributions and remittances from employees’ share, reimbursements from the retirees bonus program, amount as adjudged by the court as lost income, and total amount of interest from all accounts due as awarded by the Superior Court.
Cabrera said that his perusal and understanding of the judgment led him to believe that the court “is amenable to issuing an amended order that will alter that amount and that this amount be paid in installment according to an agreement to be negotiated by the parties.”
“We all need to reflect on the fact that the sole intent and purpose of the retirement program is to reward public servants with monetary pensions so they could live the remaining years of their lives comfortably,” he said.
Retirees, he said, should not be made to fear that the money they have come to depend upon for their very livelihood is in danger of being discontinued.
He also asked for the expeditious appointment of a designee from the Retirement Fund so the suggested tasks may be undertaken as early as possible.
In an interview after the meeting, asked what the CRA thought of receivership, Cabrera said, “It’s too early to answer that question. A lot of things can happen.”
According to Variety sources, a receivership will benefit the Fund because the receiver will be empowered to marshal and handle the assets and liabilities. However, the sources said payout of the pension funds would be a stumbling block.
They said, “The receiver can recommend a plan to conserve the assets and reduce liabilities or stop the bleeding — for now — that may be a reduction in benefits across the board such as 50 percent.”
Variety was also told that the receiver can also recommend a plan to either liquidate the Fund or to conserve the Fund.
Variety also learned yesterday that attorney Bruce Jorgensen, who’s representing retirees who filed the lawsuit to place the Fund under receivership and Sapuro Rayphand in his removal case, is recently joined by former Hawaii Attorney General Margery Bronster and her senior law partner Robert Hatch.
Bronster, the first woman appointed as AG of Hawaii for a full term, and a graduate of Columbia University Law School, led an investigation into the abuses of Bishop Estate/Kamehameha Schools Trust.
Hatch, meanwhile, is experienced in litigation of class action claims and lawsuits.
Bronster and Hatch, who agreed as Jorgensen’s co counsels on behalf of Jorgensen’s clients in pending Fund proceedings in the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands and expect to seek and obtain pro hac vice admission and to enter their appearances as co-counsels of record.
According to Wikipedia, pro hac vice refers to a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction but has been allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.
