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About 1,000 people sign CUC petition
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Posted on Sep 22 2008
Approximately 1,000 people have signed a petition seeking federal intervention into the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.
Several hundred people signed the petition at last week’s CUC rally held at the Garapan Fishing base, said Ed Propst, one of the organizers of the rally and petition.
The petition requests President Bush to declare a federal state of emergency of CUC; CUC be placed in a federal court-appointed receivership until utilities are restored and the financial condition stabilized; and for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an audit of CUC.
On Saturday approximately 100 people signed the petition outside a local market, said Rep. Tina Sablan, another organizer.
“It went really well. We were there for a few hours,” she said.
Some people requested to take petitions with them so they could collect their own signatures, she added.
The group has also collected testimonials from a wide range of citizens, Propst said.
“It really varied,” Propst said of the testimonials. “We have some man’amko to little kids. It was all ages in between. There were some that were very sad, and it just goes to show how bad some people are suffering from these outrageous rates we’re forced to pay.”
A copy of the petition will be given to Office of Insular Affairs director Nik Pula who is on island this week, Sablan said. The group will also send President Bush and the U.S. Congress the petition at a later date.
Until then, Propst said they are still gathering signatures and plan to hold another rally in the near future. The rally, which will be held at a new location, might also feature a forum, he added.
