Rota lawmakers protest exclusion from Plumeria project

The Rota Legislative Delegation has accused the CNMI Housing Task Force of giving Rota officials the run-around, only to exclude the island from its new subdivision project.

In a press statement, the Rota delegation expressed its displeasure with the task force, which the group said has shown unwillingness to construct homes for the people of Rota.

The delegation, composed of senators Diego M. Songao, Paul A. Manglona, and Paterno S. Hocog, added that it would urge Gov. Juan N. Babauta to immediately create a Housing Task Force solely for Rota, “so that people of Rota may be included in future construction projects.”

Housing Task Force officials could not be reached for their comment yesterday.

The Rota delegation’s sentiment stemmed from the housing body’s Sept. 3 determination that “it is not in the best interest of the applicants on Saipan or the potential applicants on Rota to include the Rota homes in the Plumeria Estates Project.”

The senators said there was no justification for the task force’s decision. They noted that their group and the Marianas Public Lands Authority have met all the conditions set by the task force to get Rota included in the Plumeria Estates Project.

“The Rota Delegation was made to jump through hoops, attend meetings, and send letters back and forth, unlike the other delegations. [For Saipan and Tinian], the Housing Task Force has bent over to assure that the Plumeria Estates Project continues smoothly, without anyone having to lift a finger,” said the delegation.

“However, when it comes to the Rota portion, the Housing Task Force seems to think it need not bother to do anything, leaving all the work to be done by the Rota delegation,” the senators added.

Further, the group said it received information that not one of the Saipan applicants has been approved yet. Thus, the group noted, Rota’s involvement would not have led to delays in the project.

“The task force cannot be relied on to adequately serve the people of Rota. It has no business telling us that the people of Rota don’t want homes. Not after all the effort we put into this. We were told we were in, and they just cut us out,” the group said. “The governor’s Housing Task Force issued nothing but lame excuses which reveal an absolute unwillingness to include Rota from the very beginning. It fought us tooth and nail, and then told us that Rota people don’t want homes. We wish the residents of Tinian the best of luck.”

Tinian is still working on its subdivision plan.

The Plumeria Estates project involves the construction of new houses at approximately 13 hectares of land near Tottotville Subdivision in Koblerville. Up to seven different styles of residential homes will be built based on plans and specifications provided by the Northern Marianas Housing Corp.

A total of 128 houses with two-, three-, and four-bedroom units will be available to first-time homeowners at a low price.