Political status commission eyes public outreach that will also save some cash

The 2nd Marianas Political Status Commission sat down for the third time yesterday, as they begin to seek out the public’s opinion on the current relationship between the CNMI and U.S. federal government.

Its members also promised to be prudent with the money allocated to it by the Legislature.

Commission chair Pete Reyes said the Legislature had given the panel $150,000 that will be used to hire administrative staff and for its operations. The money would cover office expenses and airfare costs in flying members to and from the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, plus other expenses.

Reyes

Reyes said they had also wrote Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, House Speaker Blas Jonathan T. Attao (R-Saipan), and Senate President Victor B. Hocog (R-Rota) to seek for further assistance.

“We drafted a letter to Speaker Attao to…assist us by allowing Jessica Tomokane to work with us. We also finalized the letters requesting for resource personnel. We’re going to be asking [them] if we could get some legal assistance,” said Reyes. “This is so, that we can work within the budget. So, we don’t need to be spending too much funds that may eventually run out.”

The commission will be reaching out to the public via information campaigns and public hearings to hear the sentiments of the members of the community.

Using other government resources like having the commission’s meetings or public hearings aired live on television is being looked at save money. The commission will be holding two-day public hearings on Tinian and Rota, and will conduct hearings at the precinct level on Saipan.

“We already have the schedule for the public hearings. One day [on Tinian and Rota] is not enough. Some people may not show up the first day. So, we decided to go for two days,” said Reyes.

“For Saipan, rather than going to every village, we decided—in the interest of savings—that we will conduct at the precinct level. Possibly, we’ll also use the [House] chamber.”

They might also use the television block channels of the Office of the Governor (Channel 14) and the Legislature (Channel 23) to reach a wider audience. “So, people can tune in on the channel and then participate in the discussion.”

“We [commission] are going out to the public to seek their comments on either the current political status or the status quo, or the discussion on independence, or be a freely associated state. These are all available options, but we are not sure what the public can come up with.”

“We wanted to make sure that the public participate and we want to know what they feel. Our education will be limited to the confines of the statute. That is to determine how the public feels about the current status and to hear if they have other comments…on a more specific issue.”