Imperial Pacific International’s legal counsel Michael Chen, who is in California, participates in Wednesday’s hearing via Skype.
Commonwealth Casino Commission Vice Chair Ralph S. Demapan listens during a revocation hearing on Imperial Pacific International’s exclusive casino license in the commission’s conference room in Gualo Rai on Wednesday.
THE revocation hearing on Imperial Pacific International’s exclusive casino license on Wednesday was marred by technical glitches due to an unstable internet connection in the conference room of the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
“Perhaps it’s a strategy that IPI defunded this body by not paying the regulatory fee,” CCC Executive Director Andrew Yeom said in an interview during a break from the hearing.
Yeom had difficulty with audio while being cross-examined via Skype by IPI’s legal counsel Michael Chen, who was on the U.S. mainland.
But IPI Director Howyo Chi said CCC wasn’t that “poor” because it just received funds from the CNMI government.
Variety learned that the Office of the Governor provided CCC about $150,000 last month so it could proceed with its enforcement actions against IPI. The funding source was the American Rescue Plan Act, Variety was told.
Yeom confirmed that they recently received financial assistance from the governor’s office, but he declined to mention the amount. He said the funds provided to them were “enough for two months, so we have to ask for an additional amount.”
Yeom said he, IT Manager Jerome Bermudes and Human Resource Manager Elicia San Nicolas were volunteering their time until the end of Jan. 2024 when CCC received financial assistance from the governor’s office.
Bad connection
During the hearing, Chen’s opening statement in defense of IPI was interrupted several times because of the poor internet connection. He had to repeat himself. The situation did not get better when it was time for Chen to cross-examine Yeom. They had to repeat themselves several times because the audio was cut off repeatedly.
Yeom, for his part, was cross-examined by his counsel, Assistant Attorney General Keisha Blaise, and IPI counsel Michael Chen about IPI’s failure to comply in 2021 with Commission Order 2020-003, which required IPI to maintain a restricted bank account to reserve funds for its employees’ payroll.
CCC’s chair, Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, also appeared via Skype, but his statement wasn’t heard clearly in the conference room.
CCC Vice Chair Ralph S. Demapan, who served as the tribunal’s presiding officer, had to interrupt Chen and Deleon Guerrero and tell them to repeat what they were saying. Because of the persistent technical difficulties, Demapan had to call for a “short recess.”
In an interview, he said they were looking into options on how to proceed with the revocation hearing.
After lunch break, the hearing resumed in the Office of the Governor’s conference room on Capital Hill.
It turned out, however, that in the governor’s conference room, Zoom shuts down after an hour, requiring a five-minute break during the hearing every hour.
Besides Demapan, the members of the CCC tribunal are Commissioners Martin Mendiola, Mario Taitano and Ramon Dela Cruz.
Besides Assistant AG Blaise, Assistant AG Carl Dela Cruz also appeared on behalf of the commission.
Among those who witnessed the revocation hearing in the CCC conference room were Assistant AG James Robert Kingman, House legal counsel Joe Taijeron, Vice Speaker Joel Camacho, House Floor Leader Edwin Propst, Rep. Marissa Flores, Rep. Vincent S. Aldan, Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul, Carolinian cultural advocate Lino Olopai, Chamorro cultural advocates Liana Hofschneider and Richard Hofschneider.
When the hearing resumed in the afternoon at the governor’s office, only the commissioners, both parties and their legal counsels were present.
The hearing resumes today, Thursday, at 11 a.m. at the governor’s office.
The hearing pertains to CCC’s enforcement actions against IPI for its non-payment of the annual exclusive casino license and regulatory fees. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, CCC said IPI has failed to pay its obligations that have now amounted to over $62 million in annual exclusive casino license fees due to the CNMI government, and over $17.62 million in regulatory fees due to the commission, plus fines and penalties, for a total of $79.63 million.
In federal court, IPI has sued Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and the casino commissioners alleging breach of the casino license agreement among other things.
