Teregeyo sworn in; wants to tackle homesteads

Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo was sworn into her post as the new Department of Public Lands secretary by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Tuesday morning. (Dennis B. Chan)

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres swore in new Department of Lands Secretary Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo to her post last Tuesday.

Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony, Torres and Concepcion-Teregeyo pointed to over 3,000 pending homestead applications on island they would like cleared.

“We want to make it a reality,” Torres told reporters after the ceremony. “…Obviously land don’t grow. People or family members do grow. We are cognizant of the importance of creating the homestead availability. If not just here on Saipan but also in the Northern Islands.”

Torres said there were a lot of homesteads south of Koblerville that they would like expedited, for example. “We will be sitting down the secretary sometime if not this week, early next week to have a short-term goal and a long-term goal.”

Torres said for the “short term” they’d like to expedite the homestead program in Koblerville and also work on homesteads in the Northern islands.

“Short and long term: get homesteads out,” said Teregeyo in an interview with reporters Tuesday.

“The long-term goal is to clear everybody on our list. We have 3,183 folks that have applied. I think that is reduced by 20 lately and [DPL] staff is still thinning it out,” she said, explaining that some applicants have wed, which means, according to homestead rules, their applications “becomes one.”

Some people have wed, instead of one each, you just get one; homestead rules, if both homestead have not and they get married; application becomes one, joined

Teregeyo explained they are also “priority listings,” if say, one has a child. Another rule allows men and women who’ve served in the military to be exempt from the rule that requires applicants to build a house on their lot within three years their lot is issued.

On the issue of encroachment, which Teregeyo highlighted in earlier interviews, she said the amount of Northern Marianas Descent encroachers was “very small.”

“We have about five that I am aware of and they built their homes on public property. We are looking at the files and we’ve written letters to some of them.”

She added most of the other encroachers are foreigners who have also built homes on public property and in the past have been given notices from the department.

“At this point, I’ve already issued letters for them to vacate. Some either need to vacate or come in and pay, apply for it, and make payments.”

Teregeyo said the department gave these encroachers “about 30 days” to choose. Teregeyo started writing the letters of notice when she was appointed to office earlier this year.

“I’ve written to nine encroachers so far. Out of the nine encroachers two have come in and supplied all the documents that we need. The deadline isn’t up yet,” adding that the first deadline is March 15.

“We’ll find out at the time if they decided to stay and pay. If not, I’ve already talked to our compliance section to make sure they are on top of that.”

And “…I am very firm on my vacate dates,” she added.

Teregeyo said there is also a “great amount” that hasn’t been collected by the department for various reasons. “Some foreign companies have closed and move on and there is no trace of them at all in the Commonwealth. I’ve had a lot of discussion with our legal counsel to see how we can collect from them as well.”

There is also the issue of land “exchange” for those who encroach on public property but also point to their private property that government has been using.

“We have encountered some people in Kagman homestead that have encroached on and built their garages on existing public land,” Teregeyo said. “So the Department of Public Lands have written them letters and they have come back in and counter-offered this property for that property”

“We have those on record and we are negotiating to finalize them. It is very possible,” she added.