Group on Article 12 proposes amendments to law

The Citizens for Change of Article XII, a non-profit group, presented their proposed amendment to Article 12, the islands’ land alienation law, before members of the Rotary Club of Saipan on Tuesday.
Attorney Vincent J. Seman, chairman of the group, told Rotary members that their proposed amendments involve Article 12’s section 1, 2, and 4.

“We are here to explain that we can fix Article 12 and we have to fix it. It’s been over 25 years since Article 12 was enacted, and we’re here to explain about placing it on the ballot,” Seman said.

According to him, they are doing a “hybrid initiative” to both amend Article 12 and to have the amendments placed on the ballot as well.

DFS Saipan president Marian Aldan-Pierce, who is also a part of the group to change Article 12, said there is a need to remove the mandatory restrictions on the alienation of land and allow landowners to elect to restrict the alienation of their own land.

According to Aldan-Pierce, there are 15,914 registered voters as of Feb. 2, 2014, and the number is expected to go up in the coming months. Signatures of about 50 percent of this total, which is 7,957, are required to put the Article 12 questions on the ballot and their goal is 8,500 signatures.

Aldan-Pierce said that they are supposed to submit the petition to the Office of the Attorney General by June 5 this year.

Triple J Five Star Wholesale Foods general manager Jay Santos said that Article 12 is an issue that voters should decide.

“This petition is to get the issue on the ballot so the people can decide whether to keep the restrictions of Article 12 or give themselves and future generations the opportunity to be free to choose and mend the value of their land,” Santos said.

Santos said that no one is being forced to sell their land and no one can ever be forced to sell their land.

“We are not encouraging anyone to sell their land. This petition is to give you, the landowner, the free choice of what to do with your land,” he said.

This does not change the fact that some people have no choice but to sell their land for urgent matters, he said. Urgent matters that cause most landowners to sell their land include medical emergencies, college tuition, and unexpected loss of jobs that are happening everyday.

“This initiative intends to allow people to get the best value for their land if their decision is to sell their land,” Santos said.

Santos also explained that people would rather get loans using their land as collateral and Article 12 is “too high a risk for banks to extend many kinds of loans.” This leaves landowners no other choice but to sell.

“By signing this petition, you are not voting yes or no on Article 12. You are, however, asking for it to be put on the ballot for all of us and most important to allow the majority of the present voters to cast their voice on Article 12, a law that will impact them the most as we move on,” Santos said.