AG: Non-NMDs may sign petition to amend Article 12

Attorney General Edward T. Buckingham issued Thursday a legal opinion that says persons who are not of Northern Marianas descent may validly sign a popular initiative petition proposing to amend Article 12 or the land alienation provision of the NMI Constitution. This legal opinion could entice more non-NMDs to sign a petition being circulated by the Citizens for Change of Article 12 or CCART 12.

Article 12 of the NMI Constitution limits landownership in the CNMI only to persons of Northern Marianas descent or NMDs.

Efrain F. Camacho, chairman of CCART 12, said the intent for now is to gather at least 8,000 signatures just so they could put on the Nov. 6 ballot the question of whether to repeal or retain Article 12.

On Saturday, CCART 12 set up its first ever signature booth at a beach pavilion along Beach Road in Garapan where people could sign a petition to put the Article 12 question on the ballot. The group plans to continue the petition signing every Saturday morning at a pavilion across the JP Centre.

David Sablan, treasurer of CCART 12, said the AG opinion could prove helpful in encouraging more non-NMDs to sign the petition.

Many of those who have so far signed the Article 12 petition are NMDs, he added.

Sablan said signature booths or tables will be set up next Saturday in San Antonio, Tanapag, and Garapan.

“We are inviting everyone to sign the petition so that it can be placed on the ballot,” he said.

Buckingham’s three-page legal opinion responds to a question presented by Commonwealth Election Commission Robert A. Guerrero.

Guerrero’s question was: “Can a person who is not of Northern Marianas descent validly sign—that is, will the Attorney General count his or her signature when determining whether the minimum signature requirements have been met—a popular initiative petition proposing to amend Article 12 of the Commonwealth Constitution?”

Buckingham’s short answer was: “Yes, a person who is not of Northern Marianas descent may validly sign a popular initiative petition proposing to amend Article 12 of the Commonwealth Constitution; the Attorney General will count his or her signature provided that he or she is qualified and registered to vote in the Commonwealth.”

Guerrero said last night that it was CCART 12’s Camacho who sent him a question asking who will certify the signatures.

He said he then posed the question to the AG, who certifies the signatures. The response came in the form of a legal opinion.

The AG said that Section 4 of Article 18 provides that a popular initiative petition to propose a constitutional amendment “shall be signed by at least 50 percent of the persons qualified to vote in the Commonwealth and at least 25 percent of the persons qualified to vote in each senatorial district.”

A person is qualified to vote if, on the date of the election, he or she is “18 years of age of age or older, is domiciled in the Commonwealth, is a resident of the Commonwealth and has resided in the Commonwealth for a period of time provided by law, is not serving a sentence for a felony, has not been found by a court to be of unsound mind, and is either a citizen or national of the United States.”

“A person need not be of Northern Marianas descent to be qualified to vote; and thus, a person need not be of Northern Marianas descent to validly sign a petition proposing to amend Article 12,” Buckingham said.

When a petition is submitted to the AG for certification, the AG will count the signature of a person if he or she meets the following criteria: (1) he or she is eligible to vote under the Constitution and applicable Commonwealth laws, and (2) he or she is properly registered to vote with the Commonwealth Election Commission on the date that he or she signs the petition.

“Whether a person is of Northern Marianas descent is not part of the criteria,” Buckingham said. “Thus, the Attorney General will not consider whether a person is of Northern Marianas descent when determining whether to count a signature on a petition proposing to amend Article 12.”

CCART 12 has been campaigning for the repeal of Article 12.

Their ongoing signature campaign is to put the Article 12 question on the ballot—and it does not matter whether a person signing the petition is for or against the repeal of Article 12.

Camacho said if they do not succeed in getting the required number of signatures, they will try again in the general elections in 2014.

But if they gather enough signatures to put the question on the ballot, and voters ratify it on Nov. 6, Article 12, Sections 1 to 6 of the NMI Constitution will be repealed.

Camacho, Sablan and former representative Diego Benavente, one of the core members of the CCART 12, said the group decided to pursue a popular initiative because all of the legislative initiatives have not been approved by both chambers of the Legislature.

Camacho said if one looks closely at Article 12’s provisions, they are working against a lot of NMDs and as time progresses, there will be more dilution of blood because of mixed marriages.

The 25 percent blood quantum will soon be lower than 25 percent so those (persons) will be without right to own fee simple land in the Northern Mariana Islands.

“So you ask yourself, is Article 12 then protecting NMDs?” Camacho asked.

If an NMD couple adopts a minor child from anywhere in the world without any Carolinian or Chamorro blood, that adopted child will be considered 100 percent NMD. On the other hand, an NMD who marries a non-NMD will have a child considered only 50 percent NMD.

CCART 12 says Article 12 was never intended to be a permanent fixture in the Constitution.

Section 805 of the Covenant allows the CNMI to revisit its land alienation restrictions 25 years after the termination of the Trusteeship Agreement in 1986. That 25-year period ended in 2011.

The Covenant established the political relationship between the United States and the Northern Marianas. [I](With Moneth Deposa)[/I]