Abolish MPLA with care

House Bill No. 15-57, which would abolish MPLA, is an appropriate response to the serious breaches of public trust by the runaway board of directors who consider themselves untouchable and answerable to no one. Drafted by Covenant and CNMI Constitution legal expert Howard Willens, it puts the management of public lands back on solid Constitutional grounds, and returns some measure of public participation in that the governor, who would oversee the resulting land management agency, is accountable to the voters.

But H.B. 15-57 does not go far enough. While it does end the reign of abuse by the current MPLA management and board of directors by eliminating the autonomous agency, it does not directly address the fundamental problem of a disenfranchised indigenous people who have no say-so over how their lands are used. Giving sole authority over the management of public lands to a competent, trustworthy governor who listens to the concerns of the indigenous public today means that this same sole authority must necessarily go to the next governor as well. How do we know that the next governor, or the one after that, won’t be as bad or worse than the current MPLA board of directors?

Relying on a voting public to curb the abuses of a bad governor would be a mistake. There are many issues facing voters besides just the management of public lands and a governor will not likely fear being voted out of office over a single issue. Even if voters did revolt, a great deal of damage can be done in a governor’s four-year term.

Good public land use policy should invite participation by the owners of public land. This is obvious. What is not obvious is exactly how to go about it. There have been several attempts at forming agencies and departments to manage public lands since the Covenant agreement and the CNMI Constitution, and none of them has been entirely successful.

It is therefore extremely important that the Legislature take time to give H.B. 15-57 the due diligence it deserves. It should be discussed and improved until it reflects sound public policy that is practical and enforceable, and can stand the test of time. Let HB 15-57 resolve the public land use and management question once and for all.

In the meantime, it is alarming to note that over a month has passed since the new government has been installed and MPLA’s runaway board is still in charge. They not only continue to travel and waste public funds, but in their panic for self-preservation they have tried to discredit the newly elected governor and, in the process, damaged the Commonwealth’s reputation and brought it a step closer to losing one if its most invaluable tools—local control over immigration.

Something must be done fast to stop this kind of damaging and anti-social behavior.

Is there any reason why the MPLA board of directors cannot be removed or at least suspended immediately?

Despite what the board of directors at MPLA may think, the “autonomous” agency is not 100 percent free to do whatever it likes. It must operate within the law and it is answerable to the enabling legislation that created it. MPLA exists under the Executive Branch and the governor has the power to remove the board for cause. This is clearly stated in Public Law 12-33, Section 103(d). Just cause for terminating the board of directors abounds. If ever it was appropriate for a governor to exercise this power, now is the time to do it.

Peter J. Pangelinan Perez
PaganWatch