Marpi homestead applicants surpass number of lots

The number of applications for residential homesteads in Marpi has already surpassed the total number of available lots, according to Public Lands Secretary John S. DelRosario Jr.

DelRosario said the available lots in the area is 1,200 but the applications have already reached 3,400.

“This would be difficult for us. But we’re doing everything we can to solve this problem,” DelRosario said.

He said most of the applicants are self-employed.

He said there are certain regulations to follow but DPL is taking into consideration the economic situation in order for the lots to be affordable.

“We have to be realistic [about] current circumstances,” he said. DPL has already extended from three years to six years the period for recipients to build their homes.

DelRosario said that another challenge is what to do with applicants who do not qualify for homesteads.

“What do we do with that? We may offer them another scheme, which is rent-to-own,” he said.

Another problem for DPL is wealth acquisition. “When the applicant has already acquired the lot, they sell it. The trend is that, as long as it is private, they will sell it. That’s why we have to build the house first,” he said.

Each homestead lot will have an area of 750 to 1,000 square meters. It will have space for a septic tank, especially on Tinian, where there is no sewer system.

Two other areas on Saipan are available for the program: 215 lots in Koblerville and 78 on Capital Hill. The clearing operations will be done this year.

DPL recently announced that the governor will issue over 400 homestead lots on Tinian in mid-February and 500 on Rota in May.

DelRosario said the lots on Tinian are located in West San Jose, near the MRDC and harbor. That area, he said, is on a gradual slope. A map of the homestead’s exact location was not immediately available.

He said these homesteads were scheduled for distribution last year but did not push through due to the absence of survey works. He said survey works would be completed within a month after the awarding of contract to a survey firm.

The homestead design for Tinian has already been approved by the Division of Environmental Quality, he said.

The lots and boundaries will be shown to the recipients in mid-February.

“It is a new policy decision that realistically accommodates the economic plight of prospective homesteaders,” he said.

Applicants may visit the Tinian DPL Office for updates.