Transferred authority?

I fail to see how an individual would wonder if the authority over public lands was transferred to Ms. Cinta Kaipat, Mr. Peter J. Pangelinan-Perez, or the PaganWatch Group. Rather, I seem to constantly be drawn to the conclusion that Ms. Kaipat, Mr. Pangelinan-Perez, and the concerned members of PaganWatch are merely a group of concerned descendants of the Northern Marianas bloodline. Therefore, they are constituents of the Marianas Public Lands Authority—the ONLY constitutionally mandated entity charged with the management and disposition of public lands belonging collectively to the people of the Commonwealth who are of Northern Marianas descent. In essence, MPLA is tasked with the fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the indigenous people of the NMI—including Ms. Kaipat and members of PaganWatch. These concerned men and women are not opposed to investing in the pristine island of Pagan. However, they simply want things done the right way! It is paramount that we do away with the tradition of making unscrupulous decisions on issues that will affect the welfare of the great people of the Northern Mariana Islands. We are a much more educated society than we were 20 years ago, thus we must make informed decisions in an effort to move the CNMI up the global economic scale. If, in fact, there is a fortune beneath Pagan’s earth, then we must exhaust all avenues to ensure that the CNMI stands to receive an equitable piece of the pie. In this day an age, even an elementary student will not settle for 7 percent. In order to achieve profit maximization, a comprehensive analysis must be conducted before we can hit the drawing board so that there is a clear picture of the potential investment return the CNMI can expect. In a world filled with diverse and competitive business firms, I highly doubt that 7 percent or even 11 percent is the best we can get. Furthermore, I applaud the MPLA board in their decision to vote down Azmar’s proposal and to form the task force that will further study the economic potential of Pagan. When the board made such a unanimous decision, we bore witness to an august body upholding its fiduciary duty to defend and protect the best interests of the people of the Northern Marianas. Let nobody tell you otherwise, not even Mr. Moore, Mr. Farrell, or Mr. Finley! If we are all required to submit a police clearance for a job that pays a minimum of $3.05 per hour, there’s no reason that a company who stands to receive millions of dollars should not—not unless there’s something to hide. As soon as a comprehensive report is submitted, we stand to know the full potential the CNMI possess in the global economy. Since pozzolan is very rare, the CNMI has this one opportunity to offer the world something many other countries cannot. If indeed the pozzolan is of high-grade, the CNMI will have a competitive advantage in the global economy. Moreover, if the CNMI achieves profit maximization, then we stand to get back on the road toward economic prosperity for all who are proud to call the Northern Marianas their home.

As descendants of the Northern Marianas bloodline, we also have a duty by virtue of our birth to defend and protect the lands on which our ancestral ties once walked on. In doing so, we ensure the full protection of the interests of all who dwell on it today. Aristotle once said, “If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.” Biba Taotao Marianas!

Angel Demapan
Honolulu, HI