CCART 12 drums up support for drive to put Article 12 on ballot

 Citizens for Change of Article 12 led by its chair, Efrain F. Camacho, encouraged the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and other members of the community to support a signature campaign to place the Article 12 question on the Nov. 6 ballot-whether they want to retain or repeal it.

Article 12 of the NMI Constitution restricts the ownership of land in the CNMI to only persons of Northern Marianas descent, or NMD.

CCART 12 is currently circulating a petition to have the question placed on the ballot during the midterm election for the public to vote whether to retain Article 12 or repeal it.

“Signing the petition does not mean you are for or against Article 12. Your signature only says that you want Article 12 to be put on the ballot for the voters to vote on,” Camacho, one of the guest speakers at yesterday’s Chamber monthly meeting, told the audience at Hyatt Regency Saipan.

The group later said they still have lots of signatures to gather to meet their target of at least 8,000 signatures, just to be on the safe side.

CCART 12 wants Article 12 to be abolished or repealed in its entirety.

During their presentation yesterday, CCART 12 members Vince Seman, Alex Sablan, and Camacho enumerated misconceptions for keeping Article 12 and the reasons for repealing it, among other things.

They said it’s only a misconception that NMDs will lose their culture or NMDs will become landless if Article 12 is repealed.

“NMDs are already becoming landless as sales are rampant due to poor economic conditions,” they said.

They added that current NMDs are already losing their land because of the blood quantum requirement. They said future generations will lose their right to own or inherit land from their parents if blood quantum continues to be diluted.

CCART 12 also said it’s a misconception that the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. is driving away investors, not Article 12.

“Many factors are driving away investors, not just one,” the group said.

The group said it’s a misconception that few NMDs will get rich.

“Now, only few buyers can control sale price. Repeal of Article 12 will pass value directly to owner,” they said.

Why repeal Article 12?

CCART 12 has been studying, researching and discussing Article 12 for over three years now.

Camacho said many NMDs are marrying outside the Chamorro/Carolinian bloodline. Several NMDs are now only 25 percent NMD and most likely will be marrying non-NMDs.

“So how is Article 12 protecting an NMD that is less than 25 percent bloodline?” he asked.

He said the framers of the Constitution felt that after 25 years, one generation, people would be educated and prepared to make their own decisions about their personal property.

“I do not feel that the government or anyone should have a say on what I do with my private land. There are some that see Article 12 as protecting the land so it can be handed down to future generations. I do not feel that a law is needed for that. Private land is private and it should be up to the owner to decide,” he said.

Camacho reiterated that abolishing Article 12 will not force anyone to sell their land.

“You can lease it, you can leave it as is or you can sell it but it would be under very different condition. One that would favor landowners,” he added.

The group pointed out that that an adopted child, say, from Egypt and without any NMD blood, becomes 100 percent NMD because of Article 12, whereas the child of an NMD and a non-NMD is only 50 percent NMD.

CCART 12 said Article 12 needs to be repealed because it interferes with an individual’s right to self-determination.

The group said Article 12 hinders economic growth because, among other things, it causes land value to drop to an all-time low; banks are reluctant to make real estate mortgage loans; Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs bar lending; existing businesses are not interested in major improvements; and 99-year leases not only delay the inevitable and do not fully address other problems mentioned here.

‘Opposite view invited’

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce said yesterday that they are also inviting people opposed to the repeal of Article 12 to speak before Chamber members and guests “and state their reasons for doing so.”

“We will give them equal time to state their case, as well,” said the Chamber, the largest business organization in the CNMI with some 150 members.

Attorney General Ed Buckingham issued a legal opinion last week stating that a person who is not of Northern Marianas descent may validly sign a popular initiative petition proposing to amend Article 12 of the Commonwealth Constitution, and the AG will count his or her signature provided that he or she is qualified and registered to vote in the Commonwealth.

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 ended in 2011.

The Covenant established the political relationship between the United States and the Northern Marianas.