Stories of desperation

“There are so many stories of desperation, of the loss of a vehicle, of unpaid bills and loans, of depleted savings, of unpaid rent and evictions, of the need for food, of the need for living essentials for their children.”

These stories and more have reportedly been ending up at the office of Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), who said Wednesday that hundreds of people have contacted his office, pleading for help in getting assistance so they could obtain their Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation checks.

In a letter to Sablan yesterday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said that, as he has reiterated in previous correspondences with Sablan, this pandemic is not something that either of them should politicize. “My administration continues to put forth every effort to keep the people of our Commonwealth as safe as possible. While our efforts so far have been successful, I would prefer that matters of concern be better addressed for the people of our Commonwealth,” Torres said.

The governor asked the delegate to refrain from using open letters “to capitalize on existing issues and, instead, work together” toward addressing them.

To date, Torres said, of the over 10,000 applications received, the CNMI Department of Labor has already processed and issued the PUA and PFUC to about 7,000 CNMI applicants and are diligently working to review and process the remaining and new applications.

Sablan said Guam has processed 35,000 checks and is now processing the claims filed on a weekly basis, and has issued $400 million into their economy from the unemployment compensation program. In the Northern Marianas, Sablan said, the government is still processing backlogs of applications. “This is not how a government treats its citizens,” he said.

The delegate said it would be interesting to know if there are people who have received their initial claim and have also received payments for their subsequent claims.

What’s more frustrating for people, Sablan said, is that they are told by Department of Labor staff that their papers are complete and that all they need to do is wait to get their check. “And so they patiently wait for weeks for some, only to receive nothing,” he said.

Sablan said individuals even have names of the Labor staff who have assured them twice, for some thrice, that they should expect the help soon, to no avail.

“Phone calls go unanswered. And if the phones are answered, they are told to leave a message and to expect someone to call them back. Weeks go by and no return calls,” Sablan said.

The delegate said emails are unanswered and no one picks up the ringing phones, despite that there are people inside the offices who hear the ringing. When phone calls do get answered, they are told that the person answering the phone cannot provide answers to the caller’s questions. Callers are asked to leave their name and phone number and to expect a return call.

“Days, weeks even, no return calls. And so they call again, only to be told once again to leave a name and a number where they could be reached since they will get a return call,” Sablan said.

He said people have no choice but to keep trying and to keep experiencing the frustrations that continue to be dished out to them.

Sablan said emails get no response, or not even acknowledged that they are received.

He said it’s been five months since many people have lost their jobs and weeks since the applications were taken. For some, it’s been weeks since they have been assured their papers are complete and that help is on the way.

“Nothing,” Sablan said.

He said it is well known that when this program was being put together, Torres was on a two-week vacation to the Northern Islands. “Rome was burning and Torres was playing the flute,” Sablan said.

In his letter to Sablan yesterday, Torres emphasized that Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente and her staff have worked tremendously hard to develop this unemployment program from scratch.

The governor said that, contrary to Sablan’s belief that because five months have passed since the signing of the CARES Act, Labor has had the same amount of time to process payments to the CNMI residents awaiting the PUA and PFUC benefits, that claim is untrue.

Torres said the funding for this program was not made available to the CNMI until June 10, 2020.

He said that last June 17, or seven days after receiving additional U.S. Labor guidance, the PUA/FPUC program was launched.

In this short period, the governor said, Labor was able to develop the program and build it from the ground up. “These efforts comprised of reassigning public employees from various other agencies, hiring temporary employees, and providing training for all of the PUA staff, including existing DOL employees, among other critical management and planning endeavors,” he said.

Moreover, Torres said, Labor is required to quickly master and administer the tedious application processes required of them and, at the same time, ensure that knowledgeable staff remain available to address public questions and concerns.

The chief executive said in the past couple of months, the CNMI has waited for additional federal guidance on numerous matters regarding the PUA and PFUC.

He reminded Sablan that the failure to properly vet applications in Guam have resulted in fraudulent claims that have repeatedly stalled and slowed down the issuances of their residents’ benefits.

For these reasons, Torres said, Labor remains cognizant of the CNMI government’s potential liability for any and all fraudulent claim payments and costs that are unrecovered.

He said although they are conscious of their responsibility to ensure that the process is as timely as possible, Labor must first and foremost, prioritize the CNMI’s obligation to properly vet and process all applications thoroughly and responsibly.

Torres said contrary to Sablan’s statement that $2 million was provided to hire staff to process applications, and his assertions that the administration has not put the money to use, Labor has received $1,770,584 for necessary equipment and personnel. He said those funds were designated for, and in fact, have been utilized for, the procurement of critical equipment and supplies and were budgeted appropriately to cover personnel costs.

Torres said they have requested a response, but they have yet to receive any word from Sablan’s office regarding the status of the PUA and some PFUC for some members of the community. Specifically the contract workers, who are currently ineligible for this assistance.

The governor said that Benavente advised the delegate’s office last June 15 of the federal law preventing the extension of benefits to residents with CW-1 immigration status. Benavente urged Sablan for congressional action to remedy this issue. However, Torres said, they have not received any updates of Sablan’s efforts within Congress towards this since.

He said they are extremely concerned about these community members and their ability to meet their basic needs because they personally advocated for their eligibility. “Thus, we would like to take this opportunity to, again, strongly encourage your congressional office to pursue eligibility for our CW residents who urgently need this help,” Torres said.

The governor urged Sablan to consider working together on these issues, “rather than continuing in this game of one-upmanship that neither of them should have the time for during this pandemic.”