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With Saipan casino law, POB float now a ‘backup’ plan
Gov. Eloy S. Inos said yesterday that legalizing casino gaming on Saipan will not necessarily put a brake on the plan to float a pension obligation bond—which could be anywhere between $60 million and $120 million—but unlike before, the POB could now be more of a “backup” plan to ensure that the government does not default on its payments to the retirement settlement trust account, among other things.
Some lawmakers are hoping that allowing a casino industry on Saipan to generate much-needed revenue will no longer force the CNMI to float a bond that could put CNMI future generations in debt.
But the governor said yesterday that the POB plan is not necessarily on hold, although he recognizes that the POB plan has costs associated with interest.
He said even the Saipan casino bill is “not enough.”
“POB will be there, available, but would be utilized only at extreme conditions so as not to allow us to go into default on the settlement agreement,” the governor said in an interview after proclamation signings yesterday at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe.
He said POB remains a plan, and the authority to issue a POB is already in place.
“If needed, then we’ll have to come back and activate it…POB is not necessarily on hold. There’s just a lot of stuff that needs to be done to issue the POB,” he said, citing the need to evaluate the CNMI’s credit worthiness, among other things.
Public Law 18-12 authorizes the Commonwealth Development Authority to issue pension obligation bonds of up to $300 million on behalf of the CNMI to pay the government’s retirement obligations.
