By Zaldy Dandan – Variety Editor
It’s the economy
HERE’S what we know. Due to Sinlaku’s economic and financial impacts, the CNMI government’s estimated revenue for FY 2026 is down by 10%, or more than $13 million. The Department of Finance has also reported revenue shortfalls in the first two quarters of the fiscal year.
Hence, the governor’s decision to announce austerity measures, including a reduction in employee work hours from 70 to 64 hours per pay period. He also created a furlough task force to address the “need to operate within decreased budget availability and a shortened timeline.”
Let’s be clear. The CNMI government is navigating a severe fiscal squeeze because of a weak economy. We need more tourists and new investors. But we are just one of many island jurisdictions competing for visitors and businesses.
The pandemic and the resulting government restrictions inflicted lasting economic and social strain. Other one-size-fits-all government mandates imposed by faraway bureaucrats have only compounded those challenges. Overcoming them is the primary task of CNMI leaders — and those seeking office in this year’s election.
Until the Commonwealth grows its economy, every fiscal crisis will be met with the same painful prescription: cuts, furloughs, and fewer public services. The CNMI cannot cut its way to prosperity. It must grow its way there.
Through storm and strain
AMID ongoing Sinlaku recovery efforts, another tropical cyclone formation alert, an anemic economy, and mounting financial challenges — there is consolation in knowing that the nation’s flag still stands, its broad stripes and bright stars gallantly streaming in the tropical wind.
On Saturday, the flag will take center stage as this U.S. Commonwealth marks the 250th anniversary of American Independence Day and the islands’ 80th Liberation Day in the 50th year of the Covenant that brought the Northern Marianas into the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The story of these islands has never been one of ease but of endurance. The NMI has weathered storms before, rebuilt after devastation, and carried forward through cycles of uncertainty with a stubborn sense of purpose rooted in community and a shared obligation to one another.
But the challenges ahead, from recovery gaps to fiscal strain, will not yield to symbolism alone. As the flag is raised this weekend, it should not be read as an assurance that difficulties have passed, but as a reminder that they are not insurmountable. Celebration and concern can coexist. Pride in history can sit alongside clear-eyed attention to the present.
And if the past 80 years of Liberation and 50 years under the Covenant have shown anything, it is that resilience here is not an abstract ideal — it is a daily practice, renewed in ordinary decisions long after the ceremonies end.
Zaldy Dandan is the recipient of the NMI Society of Professional Journalists’ Best in Editorial Writing Award and the NMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/.
