MINORITY bloc Sen. Paul A. Manglona, the CNMI’s longest serving lawmaker, is once again urging Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider and Senate Floor Leader Vinnie Sablan to act on Senate Bill 22-23 and Senate Joint Resolution 22-01.
Introduced by Manglona and his fellow minority bloc Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero, Senate Bill 22-23 would remove the exclusivity of the casino license issued to Imperial Pacific International. IPI’s license has been suspended by the Commonwealth Casino Commission due to the casino investor’s failure to meet its financial obligations.
S.J.R. 22-01, also introduced by Manglona and Deleon Guerrero, requests Gov. Ralph DLG Torres to instruct the Planning and Development Advisory Council representative to “immediately provide a report” to the Legislature on casino projects.
In a follow-up letter on Wednesday, Manglona reminded Sablan that “twice I have written you letters to respectfully call upon you and the Senate leadership to act on Senate Bill 22-23 and Senate Joint Resolution 22-01, which outline the process to address Imperial Pacific International’s inability to honor its financial commitments to the CNMI.”
Manglona said, “It is evident that IPI has not, cannot and will not honor its obligation to its employees, contractors, vendors and the CNMI in accordance with the Casino License Agreement.”
Manglona added, “Mr. President and Floor Leader, while you were fixated on finding $1,000 for a holiday bonus, you spent the past 16 months ignoring the need to identify funding for the 25% of our retirees’ pension that is entirely dependent on the casino gross revenue tax. Once again, I implore you to act on Senate Bill 22-23 and Senate Joint Resolution 22-01 so we can proactively address this impending crisis.”
S.B. 22-23 and S.J.R. 22-01 were referred to Sen. Victor Hocog’s Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee whose deadline to act on the measures was on April 18, 2021.
Paul Manglona
