Flashback — May 2000-May 2003

Saipan mayor earmarks $200K for machine shop[/B]

The Saipan local government has earmarked some $200,000 from its Fiscal Year 2000 supplemental budget for the purchase of a fabrication facility in Lower Base, Mayor Jose C. Sablan disclosed yesterday. Mr. Sablan said the fabrication facility, which was purchased from Senator Ramon S. Guerrero, will be used as the maintenance hub of the local government’s equipment that includes dump trucks. He said the facility is equipped with a generator which should be of important use in the local government’s efforts to keep its equipment in good condition.

Federal Ombudsman Pamela Brown yesterday justified the employment of a resident alien at the U.S. Labor Office on Saipan despite allegations that the recently hired employee had been convicted of violating local labor laws. Ms. Brown said Min Fu Kirk was hired by the Labor Ombudsman Office to provide translation and caseworker services necessary for conducting interviews based on her high proficiency in both Cantonese and Mandarin languages, as well as her immigration status. She said Kirk showed superior knowledge of the Chinese language and is familiar with the local business sector and labor laws, which were the bases of her employment with the Ombudsman Office.
[B] May 18, 2001

Fitial vows to solicit federal funds for local infra projects[/B]

House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial yesterday promised to help the Commonwealth Ports Authority solicit additional funds from the federal government for major improvements at the CNMI’s air and sea transport facilities. Mr. Fitial said moves are now underway to secure financial assistance from the Department of Transportation to speed up rehabilitation and improvement projects of airports and harbors in the Northern Marianas. Mr. Fitial said the CNMI Legislature’s lower house will work with US Representative John T. Doolittle and other members of the US Congress and the Bush Administration to facilitate the release of federal funds for the islands’ transport facilities.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday vowed to use an iron fist to carry out labor reforms and mete out stiffer penalties to public and private firms violating local and federal labor laws. The governor declared an all-out war against labor abuses saying that the administration will no longer condone these malpractices. He said the government has made a commitment to improve the Northern Marianas labor situation and all avenues will be carefully scrutinized to uncover any violations by any companies operating in the CNMI. “We are carefully examining these corrections and the violations which happened in the past. The administration doesn’t want any of these to happen again,” said Mr. Tenorio in an interview.

RP housing program cuts rates for Filipinos abroad[/B]

The Philippines’ Pag-Ibig Overseas Program, a voluntary savings plan for overseas Filipinos, has lowered its interest rates for housing loans from 9-17 percent to 6-12 percent per annum in Philippine peso. The savings program, also called POP, gives Filipino overseas workers, immigrants, and permanent residents an opportunity to save for their future and to avail of a housing loan in the Philippines. The lowered interest rate, coupled with the strength of the U.S. dollar against the peso, would allow members the opportunity to pay less this time.

After months of laboratory tests and medical studies, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome remains mysterious and puzzling, with recent findings in Canada showing that some people who were not diagnosed with SARS symptoms turned out to have the virus, while those tagged as having SARS yielded negative of the virus. Dr. Frank Plummer, scientific head of Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory, told a recent international congress on SARS that testing for the coronavirus that is believed to cause SARS has turned up “a puzzling, possibly troubling finding.” Plummer disclosed that the national microbiology laboratory has found evidence of the SARS coronavirus in 14 percent of roughly 550 people who were under investigation for SARS but who never met the case definition.