36 years of being part of the US

Today marks the 36th year of the signing of a document that made the Northern Marianas a part of the United States, a historic date that Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos and other community members said the CNMI should celebrate and reflect on.

Covenant Day, as the day is known, is an observed CNMI holiday.

“Covenant Day is not just a holiday. It’s day in which we should all sit back and maybe take a look at the document and reminisce on where we have been, where we are, and where we’re headed,” Inos told reporters in an interview at the launching of the “Our Laolao Litter-Free On Land and Sea” campaign on Thursday.

On March 24, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed a joint congressional resolution approving a mutually negotiated “Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States.” The Covenant defines the unique relationship between the Northern Marianas and the United States, recognizing U.S. sovereignty but limiting, in some respects, applicability of federal law. The Commonwealth accordingly enjoys a greater degree of autonomy than most U.S. territories.

Inos said that changing that relationship “or to take a different route is probably not practical.”

“I still hope that whenever the U.S. invokes the unilateral decision to assert certain provisions of the Covenant unilaterally, that they give due consideration to the plight of the CNMI. We read the preamble of the CNMI. [It is] essentially to promote the health and welfare and standard of living for the people of the Commonwealth,” Inos said, adding that the central theme of the preamble has been generally achieved.

Noel Taisacan, an adjunct faculty member at Northern Marianas College teaching Natural History of the CNMI, said the Covenant is a “good document” and a “good agreement,” but the relationship between the CNMI and the United States could be further improved.

“I just hope there’s more recognition of the word ‘consultation,’” he said.

Inos also recognizes the challenges, but said this may be a result of lack of or inadequate communication and consultation, as well as changes as a result of passage of time. He cited the importance of having a CNMI representative in the U.S. Congress.

Taisacan, a resident of Koblerville, said it’s always good to reflect on the Covenant.

“The Covenant formally establishes our relationship with the United States, which forged our present-day Commonwealth… I am proud to be a United States citizen,” he said.

Inos cited as examples of meaningful benefits to the CNMI its relationship with the United States, including the American flag that flies here, the application of U.S. laws that he said are “very disciplined and defined,” the U.S. currency, and the U.S. banking system.

“Those elements, I should say, have given confidence to investors and tourists that this is in fact a good place to invest, to live…Why else would a lot of people want to go to the United States and seek residency, citizenship? Because of the American dream,” he added.

A 14-year-old teen, in a separate interview yesterday, said he does not know what the Covenant is, or what Covenant Day means.

“It’s not taught in school,” he said.

But Taisacan, an educator, said children in the CNMI are not taught about CNMI history until the ninth grade and he believes this should change.

“I think basic CNMI history should be taught in the very beginning, and more in depth as they grow older,” he said.

The Covenant was negotiated over the course of 27 months or from December 1972 to February 1975 by the Marianas Political Status Commission, made up of representatives of the Northern Mariana Islands, and a delegation representing the United States.

The proposed Covenant was signed by negotiators on Feb. 15, 1975, and unanimously approved by the legislature of the Northern Mariana Islands District of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands on Feb. 17, 1975.

Four months later or on June 17, 1975, the Covenant was submitted to NMI voters in a plebiscite. At the time, 95 percent of eligible persons had registered to vote.

Of the 95 percent of all registered voters who cast ballots in the plebiscite, 78.8 percent voted to approve the Covenant.

The Covenant was subsequently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 21, 1975, and by the U.S. Senate on Feb. 24, 1976.

On March 24, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263), enacting the Covenant. Some provisions became effective on that date, pursuant to Covenant Section 1003(a).

Remaining provisions became effective on Jan. 9, 1978, as well as on Nov. 4, 1986, when qualified residents of the Northern Mariana Islands became U.S. citizens.

Covenant Section 105 provides that many provisions of the Covenant may be modified only with the joint consent of the U.S. and Commonwealth governments.

On Nov. 28, 2009, CNMI immigration also came under federal control.

Inos said in the first seven years of the Covenant, the CNMI was getting $10 million a year for its operations. This went down to $7 million “and as we built our local capacity and generate revenues, then those direct assistance for operations have continuously gone down.”

“But on the other side we’ve got the capital development funds, which have been provided to us and it’s up to a billion of dollars. Those funds made a lot of difference…to build infrastructure, and that’s basis for economic growth. If we didn’t have those, we wouldn’t have the kind of economic state and although we would like to see more, without those capital development funds, we wouldn’t be in a situation right now, we won’t attract investors because investors are looking for infrastructure, roads, utilities and so forth,” he said.

And because the islands are a commonwealth of the U.S., they are not authorized to have direct access to foreign government assistance and have to depend on the U.S. government for capital funds.

He said central to the Covenant’s establishment is to strengthen the economy and improve the lives of the people in the Commonwealth. Inos said there have been failures “in some areas and maybe a lot of it has to do with the political climate in Washington, D.C.”

“It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s the way how things work. The U.S. is also challenged by many issues,” Inos added.

Becky Santos, a Kagman resident, said there should be a Covenant Day celebration, instead of allowing it to be just another no-work or no-school holiday.

“There should be an event where the community could get together to listen to and discuss why and how this Covenant Day came about,” the court employee said.

Inos, now the titular head of the Covenant Party, one of the political parties in the CNMI, is inviting the public to participate in today’s celebration of Covenant Day at Minatchom Atdao in Susupe, from 10:30am to 3pm.

He said they would like to also invite those who were part of the team that negotiated the Covenant, to share their reflections and ideas about the significance of the Covenant and its relevance today.

“We should take a moment and even if we have some failures, we’ve got a lots of successes. We should take a moment and thank the Lord for the many successes that we have, for keeping us safe and giving us the confidence that we continuously do good…and hopefully our partners, the federal government and agencies will continue to look out for us and help us,” he added.

The Covenant Party was formed by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial 11 years ago to support his gubernatorial bid, but he left the party last year to rejoin the Republican Party. While many followed the governor to the GOP, others including his runningmate Inos, Rep. Ralph Demapan (Cov-Saipan) and Rep. Edmund Villagomez (Cov-Saipan), have stayed with the Covenant.

The party could also announce its slate of candidates for the Nov. 6 midterm elections today.