Governor thumbs down lands bill

A proposed measure envisioned to prevent loss of agricultural lands to development projects and curb CNMI’s dependence on imported farm products by extending agricultural and grazing permits to five years was disapproved by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio on grounds that it would tie the hands of government agencies in managing public lands.

The proposal also provides for compensation of $10,000 to permit holders whose permit will be terminated other than failure to comply with requirements.

But Tenorio said he preferred the existing regulation that gives one year permit that is renewable subject to availability of agricultural lands

“Issuing five years AGP permit and mandating the permitee be compensated for up to $10,000 upon cancellation of a permit for any reason other than violation of the permit is not in the best interest of the Commonwealth, nor the rest of the Northern Marianas descents who are the rightful owners of the lands,” the governor explained to the Legislature. “A yearly permit for such a use is reasonable.”

The Board of Public Lands and the Division of Public Lands, two agencies mandated by the Constitution and statutes to dispose government lands for homestead, land exchanges, agricultural and grazing as well as commercial leases, had opposed the legislation because it will hinder their ability to carry out their duties.

The Department of Lands and Natural Resources, according to Tenorio, holds title a vast tracts of lands for commercial farming which are situated on public lands containing approximately 137 hectares.

But legislators, worried over the shrinking availability of agricultural lands due to development projects, pushed the measure to save the remaining farm plots and make CNMI self-sufficient for agricultural products.

“The lost of most of the tillable and grazeable land would make the Commonwealth immensely dependent upon the importation of agricultural products,” the proposal said. “Such irreversible foreign dependence is undesirable.”

Meanwhile, Tenorio also disapproved a bill that would exempt certain autonomous agencies from the 1 percent due to the Public Auditor’s Office because of its financial implications.

The proposal seeks to exempt the financially-troubled Commonwealth Utilities Corporation from paying the 1 percent to the Office of the Public Auditor

“Although I empathize with all the agencies and departments because each is struggling to keep their operations solvent, I am concerned about exempting some, but not all, agencies without a thorough review of the effects and financial implications of such change,” the governor said.

The proposed measure did not specify other agencies that should be exempted from paying dues to OPA for performing the latter’s statutory duty in providing services for public corporations and autonomous agencies.