‘I beg to disagree’

‘My good friend, retired chief justice Jose Dela Cruz, expressed his views recently criticizing the exclusive casino license legislation. The two of us have argued back and forth about the merits of gambling here in the CNMI; and while I respect his opinion, I personally disagree with his view that gambling is always bad for a community. It seems to me that if the gambling industry is well regulated and closely monitored, it can be a major source of revenue for the community.
The good judge says that the people have already spoken against having casinos on Saipan, and that’s true. But that was many years ago, when the economy was in its heyday and the Retirement Fund was still “in the black.” But since then we have seen the unfortunate demise of the Retirement Fund. It was on the verge of bankruptcy. Drastic measures had to be agreed to by the CNMI Government in the settlement agreement that was filed by the parties in court. This was done in order to preserve the life of the Fund for the roughly 3,000 members who have already retired. Their monthly pension had to be reduced by 25 percent, a huge reduction for the members, some of whom now can no longer make ends meet.

I believe it is the obligation of the CNMI government to make good on its promise to make the retirees whole, by removing the 25 percent pension reduction as it has promised, and in order to comply with the terms of the Fund Settlement Agreement. But the only way to do this is by generating additional revenue, which the CNMI Government does not have at the present. If more revenue is generated through the casino license law, then there will be more disposable income for the retirees to spend on basic family needs. For now we need the revenue to be generated from the casino license that will be issued under the new law.

Maybe a compromise is in order. I would like to suggest that we proceed with the exclusive casino license but limit the term of the exclusive license to only 30 years, with no option to renew. If after 30 years, the economy has improved where we don’t need the revenue from the casino license, a sunset provision in the legislation will make the law expire on its own. Thereafter, any new casinos to be established shall be made only through a popular casino initiative voted upon by the people.

Alexandro “Colonel” Sablan
Dandan, Saipan