‘Abolishing Article XII is not end of Chamorro, Carolinian cultures’

A group stimulating anew the discussions on the importance of abolishing Article 12 of the CNMI Constitution says doing away with the land alienation provision is not the end of the Chamorro and Carolinian cultures, which those opposed to the idea want the public to believe.

Article 12 stipulates that only persons of Northern Marianas descent may buy or own land in the CNMI.

The Citizens for Change to Article 12, a non-profit group, said that persons originally designated as NMDs were not exclusively Chamorros and Carolinians.

“The Covenant does not refer to Carolinians or Chamorros, but to ‘persons of Northern Mariana Islands descent’ for this very reason,” said one of the group’s core members, Sen. Maria “Frica” Pangelinan.

“Article 12 actually also allowed persons of any national origin through adoption, and even corporations to be officially designated ‘persons of Northern Marianas decent.’ The argument that the end of Article 12 is the end of the Chamorro and Carolinian cultures is a myth and unrelated to the issues surrounding Article 12,” she added.

Five of the core members of Citizens for Change to Article 12 led by chair Efrain F. Camacho met Wednesday night at the Fiesta Resort and Spa to discuss their strategies to reach out to more members of the community, including the youth and members of the Legislature.

Lawyer Vince Seman, a member of the group, said it is “premature” to get the repeal of Article 12 on the ballot in the November 2009 elections but the group will educate people on the pros of repealing the land alienation provision of the Constitution.

Camacho said the longer it takes to educate people about the importance of repealing Article 12, the better. The group has been meeting with different groups, and is willing to meet with others to discuss the advantages of repealing Article 12.

“This group is not forcing people to sell their land. This group is for equality. This group is here to get people to objectively look at Article 12,” he said.

Section 805 of the Covenant allows the CNMI to revisit its land alienation restrictions 25 years after the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement in 1986. That 25-year period will end in 2011.

Of the three ways to repeal Article 12—popular vote, Constitutional Convention and legislative initiative— Pangelinan said the legislative initiative is the easiest but lawmakers should let voters decide on the issue rather than kill the initiative themselves. She cited the case when the House turned down the initiative on the 75-year land lease.

“Those people who oppose abolishing Article 12 try to use culture as an excuse. Culture is not static. We should look at it as a process of evolution. The Chamorros and Carolinians have adopted portions of other cultures which they now consider as part of their own,” said Pangelinan, citing as an example fee simple ownership, which she said is a concept brought here by Germans.

Another group, the CNMI Descent for Self-Government and Indigenous Rights, opposes any move that will repeal Article 12, which they said was designed to prevent the marginalization of the indigenous population.

Seman cited examples of how Article 12 creates inequality.

For example, a Chinese or Korean baby—who is adopted by a Chamorro parent—is considered 100 percent NMD and therefore can own land even though the baby does not have a Chamorro blood.

On the other hand, according to Camacho, the child of a Chamorro who marries someone from the United States mainland or from Asia is considered only 50 percent NMD despite having at least one biological parent who is a Chamorro. When the child with Chamorro blood marries a non-NMD and bears a child, that child is considered only 25 percent NMD. That child’s child, even if he has a Chamorro blood, could no longer own the land that would be passed down to him by her parents, grandparents or great grand parents.

“So how can you say that Article 12 provides more equality?” said Camacho.

Many of the Chamorro and Carolinian youth in the CNMI and abroad face losing rights to their family’s land because of the land alienation provision of the Constitution, the group said.

Seman said a Palauan, for example, who was brought to the Northern Marianas by the Japanese in 1946 and made Saipan their home was considered an NMD.

“Another example is my grandmother. My grandfather married a 100 percent Japanese. She was living on Saipan during the war as a nurse at the old Japanese hospital. She lived here…and she’s considered also 100 percent NMD even though she doesn’t have Chamorro or Carolinian blood,” he said.

David Sablan, also a core member of the Citizens for Change to Article 12, said Article 12 “forces people to marry locals if they want to keep their land.”

“I don’t think this is right. We must have the freedom to marry who we want to marry,” he said. “We sent our children abroad to go to school, to be educated…While they are away, they marry somebody who is outsider and if you understand the blood dilution, from 100 percent to 25 percent, and if you go below 25 percent, you can no longer own that land [that your family owns].”

Sablan, who is married to a Guamanian, said their children are considered 50 percent NMD. Their children’s children, he said, are 25 percent NMD. Their great grandchildren can no longer own land.

“That child cannot own the land I passed on to my own offspring and this, to me, is unfair. What happens to the land after the dilution of the blood below 25 percent? It goes to the government. You see? That is the reason why we believe we should rescue the future generation from this kind of inequity,” he said.

He added, “Let’s think about the future of our children and future generations. Otherwise, in due course, all these lands are going to revert to the government. Is this fair? I don’t think so. I want to die knowing that the property I leave with my family will remain with my family’s name. If they want to sell, that’s up to them but at least they know it’s coming from me and not from the government.”

Alex Sablan, also a member of the core group, said 30 years have gone by and it’s now high time for residents to decide for themselves without the government dictating to them what to do with their property.

The group is currently raising funds to, among other things, put up a Web site so CNMI youths across the globe will be able to read about the issue of Article 12, for them to decide for themselves should the issue is put on the ballot.

David Sablan said they are also looking for other members who believe that Article 12 should be repealed. Interested members can contact him at 483 1827.