‘18 land claims for a total of $28M so far, but no funding for payment’

To date, there are three active land claims on Rota and 15 land claims on Saipan, equivalent to approximately $28 million in total claims, yet there is no funding available at this time to pay these claims, according to acting Department of Public Lands secretary Teresita A. Santos.

She also shared that the Office of the Attorney General is still reviewing five land leases: Coral Ocean Resort, Brilliant Star, Triple Star, Kanoa Resort, and 153 (former Rudolpho’s Bar).

Information about the land claims and land leases were among the topics that Santos shared during her recent confirmation hearing before the Senate Executive Appointments and Government Investigations Committee. The committee report on March 30 recommended Santos’ confirmation to serve as DPL secretary.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by Saipan Tribune Tuesday, determined that, based on the overall assessment of Santos’ credentials, experiences, testimonies, goals for the agency, and other related issues, the committee is convinced that the appointee has the qualifications and leadership skills necessary to serve as DPL secretary.

Teresita A. Santos

The committee received 11 written testimonies and nine oral testimonies supporting Santos. It received no written or oral testimonies opposing her appointment.

With respect to the $28 million land claims, according to the committee report, Santos stated that there is no funding available at this time for payment of these claims until such time that the Legislature can appropriate funding for monetary compensation.

Santos said the three active land claims on Rota have a total amount of approximately $2 million in land compensation, while the 15 land exchanges on Saipan are worth a total of $26 million.

She said there is no land compensation or land exchange for the island of Tinian.

Santos said when DPL disseminates letters to private landowners regarding land claims, an option is made available to the private landowner to select land compensation or land exchange.

The acting secretary clarified that DPL does not distribute the funds appropriated for land compensation.

As to the question of who keeps track of land compensation monies, Santos explained that since the department does not appropriate the funds, they do not have that record. She said DPL, however, does have a record of the land claims consummated by the department.

On land leases, Santos said the renewal of the land leases of Coral Ocean Resort and Brilliant Star require legislative approval of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Kanoa Resort lease, on the other hand, does not require legislative approval as the public land lease is less than five hectares, she said. That lease is currently under OAG review.

Santos said she is unaware whether legislative approval is required for leased property that is less than five hectares of public land but with a lease of more than 25 years.

She further said the leases pertaining to Managaha Island and Mariana Resort & Spa (Kan Pacific) are pending legal review so she cannot discuss it further.