Teno backs crackdown in Garapan

A series of crackdown launched in the Western Garapan district over the weekend has pleased Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, who stood pat on his administration’s commitment to eliminate prostitution in the CNMI.

The governor lauded efforts by the newly-created Task Force which was formed to combat prostitution as well as other crimes perpetrated against tourists in the busy district of downtown Garapan.

He is confident the raids conducted during the weekend by the joint forces of the Department of Public Safety, the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Attorney General’s Office would send the message that the government is serious at putting an end to prostitution activities on the islands.

“The raids were launched to make people engaged in unscrupulous activities aware that our government will not tolerate such illegal operations,” he told reporters in an interview yesterday.

Mr. Tenorio also pointed out that the operations launched by the Task Force were not meant to offend business establishments in the Western Garapan district but to weed out the area of those engaged in illegal activities.

He said the presence of very few unscrupulous individuals in Garapan is giving the area a bad name, to the detriment of legitimate businesses operating in the tourist district.

“We would like the legitimate business operators to know that we are merely doing our job. We don’t want to wait until it’s already too late. We just have to tell those people that there are laws that prohibit the continued operation of their illegal activities,” he stressed.

Mr. Tenorio also said he would support clamor to amend the anti-prostitution law if legislators and law enforcement agencies saw the need to give the existing statute more teeth to effectively curb continued existence of the sex trade in the CNMI.

Legislators are now working on the amended version of the anti-prostitution law, seen to mete out sex workers and pimps with tougher penalties that may include longer jail term and deportation for non-Americans.

House Committee on Health and Welfare Chair Malua Peter said work is now underway for the incorporation of proposals submitted by the Department of Public Safety to the amended version of the law.

Ms. Peter said she hopes to introduce the proposed measure in the next session of the House of Representatives to complement efforts by the Administration against continued operation of the sex trade in the CNMI.

According to Ms. Peter, discussions are also underway on proposals made by Police Commissioner Charles W. Ingram Jr. to deport any non US-citizen found guilty of the first prostitution offense, even if it is categorized as merely misdemeanor.