Misguided diatribe

About Enrique K. Seman’s misguided diatribe, it’s important to offer real answers over perceptual pontification of issues that have been taken out of context and presented as a set of facts.

Firstly, the Department of Public Lands doesn’t acquire private land for any and all public purposes. The local government, through the Department of Public Works, does this. What’s acquired by the DPW becomes government land, not public land. Sir, there’s no connectivity between private land acquisition and the Department of Public Lands. Therefore, your accusation of DPL making a mistake is baseless and without foundation.

Secondly, it is vital to understand that policymaking, including what’s constitutionally the sole authority of the House of Representatives to appropriate funds, can’t be allowed to suffer willful pre-emption by the courts at will. This is wrong! Isn’t it true that even the judiciary’s budget goes through legislative review annually? Revisit your high school civic lessons and pertinent provisions of the NMI Constitution and be guided accordingly.

Thirdly, revisit pertinent NMI constitutional provisions establishing the Department of Public Lands or its predecessor agencies. It delineates how self-generated funds are spent in no uncertain terms. This isn’t a creature of the current secretary of the DPL. The NMI Constitution and other statutory provisions mandate the conduct of business of the department.

It is a matter policy that when land claims go to court, I leave this issue strictly to my attorney to settle via appropriate court hearing. It would be courting redundancy to have the court review your case as you attempt to negotiate a settlement. Why bring it to court if you feel that a settlement is the better option? Redundancy, sir, is still not a forte of this public servant.

If you will, land compensation is not a fundamental policy of the DPL. Essentially, DPL is a facilitating administrative agency, if I may reiterate, not because it has “segregated” funds to dispose versus land claims, but in view of its resources to research and resolve land claims matters. Notice that DPL’s segregated funds aren’t subject to appropriation? How did you miss the boat on this issue?

In passing, get your facts straight so your presentation offers appropriate perspective premised on a set of real facts, not perceptual data. This approach makes for a healthy and educated discussion on issues of substance. Evidently, I found out over the entire course of my career (public and private) that I wasn’t, isn’t and will never be the general manager of the universe. This is the purview of fully honed fools like you recalcitrant to accepting what reality presents.