FLASHBACK December 30, 1998-2002

On target: FAS citizens
[/B] A bill restricting entry of Freely Associated States citizens into the Northern Marianas has drawn the support of important government agencies which said that uncontrolled migration puts impact on resources and infrastructure. The bill, pending at the House of Representatives, would allow the government to strengthen its immigration system and set clear-cut policies on admitting Micronesians, according to papers submitted to the legislature. Mary Lou S. Ada, executive director of the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation, said the proposal will ease the burden of granting subsidy to low-income families under a welfare program that also covers FAS citizens.

The Marianas Visitors Authority has asked the association of Japanese travel agents on the island to recommend to Japan Airlines to provide Nagoya-Saipan direct service even at least twice a week. In a letter to Kiyoshi Aikawa, president of the Japan Saipan Travel Association, MVA board chairman David M. Sablan said he is seeking the understanding of all the organization’s members to help revitalize the tourism economy which has been on a downturn due to the financial crisis in Asia. The request came after MVA found out that JAL has decided to inaugurate its daily direct flights from Nagoya to Guam beginning April 1999. Unfortunately, there has been no mention at all of any scheduled JAL Nagoya flight to Saipan.

House stalls action on FAS restriction[/B]

Lawmakers yesterday dilly-dallied on legislation seeking to restrict stay of Freely Associated States citizens in the Northern Marianas because of fears that it may strain relations with neighboring islands and lead to a decline in labor pool coming from the region. The proposed law sparked emotional discussion in the House of Representatives over the strong historical and cultural ties with peoples from FSM, Palau and the Marshalls, which together form the FAS under the Compact agreement with the United States allowing them free entry into any U.S. soil. Sponsored by Rep. Melvin O. Faisao, House Bill 11-294 or the FAS Habitual Residency Act aims to provide a mechanism by which the CNMI government can track the number of Micronesians residing on the island, as well as guidelines on who can enter into the Commonwealth.

An inter-agency group under the Y2K Task Force will be on standby beginning 10:00 p.m. on Dec. 31 to monitor and respond to possible troubles arising from the so-called millennium bug. The Unified Command System will be in operation until 6:00 a.m. New Year’s Day. The government, with the assistance of the Office of Insular Affairs, has created the monitoring team to ensure that any Y2K-related problems will be addressed immediately. According to Keith Parsky, public information officer of OIA, the Department of the Interior has established 13 command centers for this purpose, including a command post for the region.

BoG may lose govt accounts [/B]

In view of Bank of Guam’s withdrawal from an earlier proposal to grant the CNMI government its urgently needed $19-million loan, some government officials and members of the public have proposed that the government pull out its accounts with the BoG, according to Gov. Juan N. Babauta. Babauta disclosed in an interview yesterday that several public officials and local residents made such a call following the failed loan negotiations. “There’s some feeling, a growing sentiment among our elected government officials and the general public, that we pull out-take our money from the bank-because they feel that the BoG didn’t negotiate with us in good faith,” said the Governor.

Sen. Ramon Guerrero pledged to work closely with the departments of Commerce and Labor and Immigration to hammer out an acceptable business application process that would cut through the jungle of red tape that is choking the entry of new businesses into the Commonwealth. This comes in the wake of the several recommendations that were pushed by the Strategic Economic Development Council during a recent meeting with lawmakers and Executive Branch officials, including Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente.