‘Encroachers’ must pay up or vacate

Department of Public Lands Secretary Marianne Teregeyo in recent weeks has been issuing notices to vacate or make payment for encroachment on public lands, calling this the biggest issue the department is working on now as encroachment violations serve “no benefit” to the people of Northern Marianas Descent.

Teregeyo, since her short time at the post, has been writing letters to “all the people on public lands that have not made any payments while they’ve been using public land.” “I’ve been actively checking all our encroachment listing and making sure our people—our Northern Marianas Descent—are actually going to benefit from that,” she said.

Teregeyo describes an immediate agenda to reporters after the Senate unanimously confirmed her to the post of DPL secretary yesterday afternoon.

This includes a comprehensive land use plan to oversee public land use and movement on the thousands of homestead applicants pending in the CNMI.

Right now, Public Lands is going through and “thinning down” a list of 3,183 homestead applicants, as some have already had houses issued to them through the local housing corporation and some have wed.

DPL stopped accepting applicants in 2006 and the DPL secretary is prohibited from issuing homesteads without infrastructure funded.

Teregeyo revealed yesterday that she issued revocation letters to six homestead applicants since her several weeks in office.

“There has been no activity on the property for 19 years. That’s why they have been revoked,” she explained. Homesteads require that in three years applicants build on their property.

“Homesteads are a top priority for many of our NMDs. It’s a matter of getting infrastructure funded for homestead. I have already met with a lot of the legislators, both Senate and House, and have talked to them about the great need to fund infrastructure. I also met with several individuals on the requirements for homestead because I am prohibited from issuing homesteads at the moment without infrastructure. So it plays a big role,” Teregeyo told reporters.

Encroachment

On the issue of encroachment, Teregeyo was asked if this was a “widespread” issue but she could not immediately confirm this.

“I have observed some and we are working to address them,” she added.

Saipan Tribune obtained a document last month that appeared to show private property of former DPL secretary Pete A Tenorio encroaching on public land.

Tenorio on Wednesday, when Saipan Tribune asked if this needed to be clarified, explained that it’s a “minor” encroachment and that he had private land at the same time being used for public “right of way” that he wanted “exchanged” with this; however, he did not find it proper to use his office at the time to advertise or facilitate this exchange.

An email sent to DPL on Wednesday to confirm Tenorio’s explanation and another email sent early last month to verify the land document have not been responded to.

“…The biggest thing we are working right now,” Teregeyo said yesterday, “is sending out notices and billings to people that are on public lands that have not made any payments utilizing public lands and have no benefit for people of NMD. So we need to collect on that so at the end of the fiscal year, we can transfer the amount of money to” the Marianas Public Land Trust.

One corporation, she disclosed, has agreed to vacate.

Governor’s support

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, for his part, was asked yesterday for the specific issues that he wanted Teregeyo to address.

Torres said “special attention” is needed for land compensation, easement, and competitive bids for government properties that are currently being occupied by hotels and golf courses.

“Those are priorities. And we need to work continuously” on them, Torres said.

On homesteads, Torres said he wants this “pushed” so they could “give as many homesteads as we can.”

“I want to do that within this year. I want to open up the Pagan homestead and our give our homestead to our applicants.”

On investor development, Torres said the administration with DPL will be “business-friendly” and working to “streamline” the permitting process to make it is convenient as possible for current and future investors.

“Her [environmental enforcement] background will help asses and expedite processes when we are doing our homestead on what kind of regulatory” aspects need to satisfied, he said.

“I am sure that here background will give a significant boost to the department” and is “an asset to new investors,” Torres said.