2018: A pivotal year for CNMI self-government

This November, the people of the Northern Marianas will once again head to the polls to decide who our political leaders will be for the next four years. The year 2018, as we should recall, is the 40th anniversary of our political relationship with the United States. We became a self-governing commonwealth in 1978. From a historical perspective, therefore, this year is a milestone in our political development.

We have now governed ourselves for four decades under our own constitution and laws. But the fundamental question that we still need to address, even at this stage of our political development, remains: What should our political leaders be doing to improve the quality of life in the CNMI during the next 40 years?

After 400 years of colonization by Spain, Germany and Japan, the Northern Marianas freely decided in 1976 to become a part of the United States. In 1978, we began governing ourselves under own constitution and pursuant to the terms of the Northern Marianas Covenant: the legal instrument that sets the basic terms and conditions of our consensual relationship with the United States.

We now have had a fair amount of experience at governing ourselves—after four centuries of colonization. For 40 years now, we have been freely electing our own leaders, making our own laws, and governing ourselves. This is self-government in the most basic sense of that term; and we are indeed fortunate to be governing ourselves.

A number of us, however, do not want the federal government telling us what to do. Yet we welcome the millions of dollars in federal grant monies that the CNMI receives every year: for PSS, for CHCC, for DPS, for CPA, for Public Works, for environmental quality, for food stamp, for housing assistance, for homeland security, for coral reef protection, and so forth.

Indeed, when the CNMI economy went into a tailspin in 2008 and for several years after that, the millions of dollars in grant monies that we received from the federal government helped us weather the worst economic recession in the history of the Commonwealth. The gross revenue generated by the CNMI government dipped to its lowest during that period.

But instead of exhibiting a sense of gratitude for the substantial, federal financial benefits and assistance we receive as a member of the American political family, many of us remain dissatisfied with our political relationship with the U.S. government. One of the most telling examples of this peculiar attitude was the recent legislative enactment establishing a “Second Marianas Political Status Commission” presumably for the purpose of renegotiating our political relationship with the United States.

Some of us even talk about becoming a “freely associated state” like the FSM and Palau or, still, becoming an independent nation. The proponents of this political attitude have apparently forgotten that the people of the Northern Marianas have already exercised their right to self-determination—back in 1976: yes, at the Mt. Carmel School auditorium where the Covenant was signed amidst great fanfare.

But aside from that fact, the U.N. trusteeship council, which oversaw the process of self-determination and decolonization of territories which were once not self-governing, no longer exists. There is no longer any territory that is still under U.N. trusteeship.

It seems to me that the people of the CNMI should once and for all make peace with the fact that we have already exercised our right to self-determination—and move on. Instead of griping over our political relationship with the United States, the people of the Northern Marianas and its leaders should instead work hard to improve and develop the CNMI, including our unique relationship with the United States. And one way of doing this is by addressing those fundamental issues that makes any community prosperous, healthy, and safe.

Among those basic issues are: (1) having an educated citizenry; (2) maintaining a sound public health system; (3) having an effective and honest law enforcement system; (4) removing all forms of corruption in government; (5) maintaining a clean, safe and healthy environment; (6) having a skilled workforce; (7) establishing an effective and progressive public land-use system; (8) enacting laws that address the needs of the public (rather than passing laws that benefit only a few); (9) adopting long-term planning and development policies that promote a sound economic base for the islands (and not allowing haphazard, short-term or destructive economic activities that benefit only a few or prey on the weaknesses of people); and so forth.

Whoever is running for public office this year (i.e., all the candidates for the executive and legislative branches, for delegate to Congress, for mayor, and so forth) should answer to us, the voters in advance of this coming election why they believe they are capable and competent to be elected to public office. All of the candidates should provide us, the voters, with the specific plans that they have and which they believe, if implemented, would benefit the people of the Commonwealth.

The people of the Northern Marianas are tired of being taken advantage of by certain of our elected leaders—and their cronies, business associates and close friends. The people of the Northern Marianas are frustrated with certain elected leaders whom we vote into office, and who then turn around and do the bidding of the few who have the money, the power and the influence over them.

A review and examination of what has happened in the CNMI government during the past four to eight years should be conducted by the voters before this coming election. And a series of public debates among the executive and legislative branch candidates should be held before the general election in November. This way, voters could make an informed decision as to which of the candidates should be elected to public office.

The voters of the CNMI, regardless of party affiliation, should vote into office only those candidates who will advance and further the best interest of the people of the CNMI. If we fail to do this, we will end up suffering for another four years. And we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Jose S. Dela Cruz is a former justice of the CNMI Supreme Court.