Hocog signs emergency measures

Acting governor Victor B. Hocog signed emergency measures into law late afternoon yesterday to absolve any dispute that the Settlement Fund might raise in preventing the disbursement of 25 percent pension checks to CNMI retirees.

Hocog signed into law Public Law 19-35, PL 19-36, and Saipan Local Law 19-12.

This is what CNMI government leaders aimed for in introducing, amending, and signing into effect the three public laws this week that, among others, provides $1.8 million to the Department of Finance to pay these pensioners, removes any doubt that the CNMI governor has the authority to reprogram Executive Branch funds for these pension payments, and allows taxes earmarked to the NMI Retirement Fund to be also used for these pension payments, respectively.

The Settlement Fund dispute has, for the most part, unified Capitol Hill officials in a rush to cure the delay in payments to pensioners.

The Fund’s returned check last Friday left over 3,000 retirees bereft of their 25 percent pension payments. The Fund disputed Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ reprogramming of funds as “not appropriate,” said the funds serve no “public purpose,” and asked for an “authorized appropriation.”

Hocog, speaking to House lawmakers during an emergency session yesterday, said the administration held a conference with Trustee Joyce Tang on Wednesday afternoon and after asked the Senate to postpone its session to work on amendments on the bills that the House passed earlier, in another emergency session, that day.

Hocog said he hoped to sign the bills and that these action would resolve the issue so that the Fund would “hopefully discharge the 25 percent benefits to our pensioners.”

The House passed the bills yesterday; in the third emergency session it had held this week.

The House passed amendments that senators had tacked on during their emergency session held nighttime Wednesday.

Senators, Ways and Means committee chair Rep. Antonio Sablan (Ind-Saipan), a representative from the Attorney’s General’s Office, and Finance Secretary Larissa Larson hammered out the amendments in the Senate president’s room throughout the afternoon Wednesday.

“We had a lot of questions and we wanted to make sure we get further clarification,” said Sen. Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan) last night.

“We were concerned on how and why we got here, what—if any, present, and future services will be affected on the usage of NMI Retirement funds, 25 percent pension responsibility, budget act concerns, and so on,” Igisomar said.

“Although we may have agreed to a policy on a supplemental source of funds and authorization processes, this will only alleviate the immediate future, he said, adding they must be more “vigilant” in their commitment in the future with increased or additional payments toward all retirees—covered under the settlement agreement or not.

Igisomar, a former chair of the Fund, added they must also commit to the 75 percent pension payment “to avoid or suppress” an “inevitable corpus avalanche. “

Igisomar said he understands the position of the Trustee Ad Litem, Joyce Tang.

“The wellbeing of the retirees and our social economic prosperity are inseparable,” he said.

“We will be working and monitoring closely with the Secretary of Finance on all revenue source and allocation of payments for the retirees to project and plan accordingly.

‘Disappointed’

After passing the emergency measures yesterday morning, Rep. Angel Demapan (R-Saipan) said the pension issue “sheds light” on the “legal role and standing of the” NMI Settlement Fund “as the rightful agency to disburse” in its disbursement of the 25 percent benefits.

He said 25 percent benefit payment “should not be comingled with the issue of the settlement agreement.”

This would pave the way for retirees’ 25 percent benefits to be “held hostage questionably.”

Demapan wants to “clarify the role” of the NMI Retirement Fund “as it is separate form the Settlement Fund” and sought his colleagues’ support to take a look at this.

Vice speaker Joseph Deleon Guerreo (Ind-Saipan), for his part, expressed disappointment with the trustee ad litem.

“We are jumping through hoops…holding back-to-back sessions” in order to “clarify what I feel is [Tang’s] misunderstanding of our laws,” he said.

Deleon Guerrero said “pensions were hostaged.”

“If she feels there is any ambiguity,” Deleon Guerrero encouraged Tang to “please check with our authorities, before she hostages our retirees’ pensions.”

Deleon Guerrero pointed to the matter of hours the government was informed that the checks were not going to be released “with no advance notice to the pensioners themselves” last Friday.

“That is not acceptable,” Deleon Guerrero said. “They don’t deserve that.”

“We will jump through hoops, bend over backwards” but “I ask her to please communicate with our government before taking such drastic actions,” he said.

Sole dissent

While he supported the bills in their final forms, Rep. Ralph Yumul (Ind-Saipan) was the sole “no” to one of the House bills that passed and headed to the Senate Wednesday.

He drew concern to “for other purposes” language of the bill and urged that the funds “not be used for other purposes other” than retirees.

Yumul complained that it takes about a year for lawmakers to receive reports from Finance to find out how the government actually spends it.

Yumul told Saipan Tribune on Wednesday that his concern and the reason why he voted no was because the measures cause a “comingling” or “misspending” of funds.

“When we follow budget acts, we use it, we don’t use it for other” things, he said.

“We are going to tap…any fund that we can” just so “we can address retirement and that is not the whole intention why we passed [the casino law].”

The law was meant to set aside funds “away from the general fund” so they would “not have to worry about it.”

“The administration is showing us that they are short, meaning they are comingling the funds with the general fund,” he said. “…What we are doing is, is allowing the governor to pay for the retirees. So now you are touching other agencies’ funds.”