Trail of bad faith

I do not oppose the casino itself and I am sure some people agree with me that we should continue to support the casino and finish the casino building project that is ongoing. It is also important to note that we want the casino to continue generating revenues so that our local economy continues to grow.

I strongly condemn those lawmakers and top leaders that are driven with dishonesty, corruption, and serve only special interests and enrich themselves, leaving our people struggling to find ways to feed their families. Our economy is picking up well so far, as they say, but it doesn’t do anything good to our people with low income. The worst part is the 80-percent salary increase for lawmakers and other top officials. This is a slap in the face to our working people in CNMI.

The trail of bad faith begins as follows:

1. In the year 2013 if you recall, a few selected Saipan lawmakers went on a casino fact-finding trip, as they called it, to Hong Kong and Macau.

2. After the trip, the same lawmakers returned to Saipan and took upon themselves to pass the casino bill without a public hearing, which is against the Open Government Act. This was the year 2014.

3. That same year, 2014, International Imperial Pacific was awarded an exclusive license to operate a casino. On July 11, 2014, Gov. Inos, signed into law Public Law 18-56, which authorized the Commonwealth Lottery Commission to issue an exclusive casino license on Saipan “for a period of 25 consecutive years with an option to extend the term for 15 additional years” for a total of 40 years. The casino was opened on July 6, 2017, at the Imperial Pacific International hotel and casino resort in Garapan, even though the construction of the hotel is still not completed to this date.

4. A Bloomberg news article details how the Torres brothers benefited from a land deal they allegedly bought from a local landowner at very low price of $180,000 and sold for $660,000.

5. The FBI made a raid on illegal Chinese workers. The FBI raided the office in Garapan of MCC International on April 5, 2017. MCC is a subcontractor for Imperial Pacific International. The raid was conducted pursuant to a search warrant obtained by the FBI.

On April 5, 2017, the FBI arrested two officials of Beilida New Materials System Engineering Co., which is the subcontractor of the Imperial Pacific International hotel and casino. The officials were arrested for employing aliens illegally, bringing aliens into the CNMI illegally, and harboring aliens illegally.

6. The Bloomberg article alleged “corruption” in the Saipan casino.

7. The head of the CNMI Department of Labor was fired by the governor.

8. One lawmaker (who is one of the participant on a casino fact-finding trip) is seen wearing 22-karat gold Rolex watch. In comparison, the salary of a lawmaker is around $39,300 and discretionary funds is $90,000 annually. The price tag for 22-karat gold Rolex is around $20,000 and up.

Money and corruption are running our land to benefit a few crooked politicians who have betrayed our own people of the CNMI, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep! We’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep.

Do we, the people of CNMI, able to stand this trail of bad faith? Think about it for a moment. Get rid of those politicians that betrayed us. Protect your families and the future generations. Give them the dignity and respect. It doesn’t matter what party you’re in: independent, Democrats or Republicans. What matters is our lives and the future generations.

Our islands are beautiful as ever and this is our paradise. No one should ever conquer this small piece of land. This is our land from our ancestors and the land for future generations. Let’s continue to make our islands a better place to live for everyone and to raise our family in peace, harmony and embrace it.

Jack Muna
Koblerville, Saipan