New political status commission

Just recently House Bill 19-2, introduced by Rep. Felicidad Ogumoro, was signed into law by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres. HB 19-2 is now Public Law 19-63.

I sense a political and foreign policy problems here. We think back to our first political status commission, how it was organized, where did we go to get the authority to organized that body, how was the membership selected, who were instrumental in convincing the Americans to entertain our aspirations, who did we enlist to support us in our status venture, etc. Did we spend any money, and if so, how much and who gave us money?

In our first political status move, we convinced the Congress of Micronesia to allow us to seek our own political status. Then we convinced the Americans to entertain our proposal, then we went around looking for an attorney or law firm which we could afford. We even went to the U.N. Trusteeship Council to plead our case. Yes, the Trusteeship Council said. You have sovereignty. You could talk to the U.S. on your aspiration. And the U.S. agreed to that. What we did not know then was that we should have not given away our sovereignty. That was the one great mistake we made.

Many of us younger citizens feel that way too. Our one big issue now is without our sovereignty, which is being possessed by the U.S., how far could we go in our political venture? Without our sovereignty, we could only exist in the shadow of the U.S. Like I mentioned before, sovereignty is our soul. It is the soul of our government. The power to govern ourselves. It is the unifier of the community, the ray of light of our culture and tradition, created by our ancestors, the indigenous Chamorro, Refaluasch, and Chamolinians. We are their extensions. So now I ask, how long is this proposed political negotiation going to last? What choice of political status are there to be selected? Are we looking at changing our Covenant, which we mutually accepted with the U.S.? Why do we want to change it? Is it to get back our sovereignty, and more? I would like to know, for myself at least, what are we going to tell U.S. Congress about our desire to make changes with the Covenant? If U.S. Congress responds that the Covenant was good and mutually acceptable then, what is deficient now? Can we go independent? No, we can’t. How are we going to support ourselves and our government, the monetary system, the international trade idea? How are we going to manage ourselves internationally? What international or regional organization are we capable of joining? We have zero experience. There was an international economic crisis, and the investors and garment factories suddenly moved out, along with a lot of our revenue generator—the poker games. We just stood here with “our mouth open.” What was happening? Our economy went zilch.

Best Sunshine, now, alone cannot carry us. Even though we are very small entities—Saipan 8 by 14 at low tide, Tinian is smaller, and Rota even smaller. Northern Islands, there’s nobody there. Only public land. So we only have a mayor of public lands, no human constituents. And he wants money from the tourist industry. For what? Is the Northern Islands generating money for the CNMI coffers? Rota, yes. Tinian, yes, and us, Saipan. Northern Islands municipality? That’s one entity we should abolish via initiative. To gather up our money, we should start abolishing boards and commissions and divisions and departments.

Public Law 19-63, the second political status commission is going to be very expensive. Members have to be paid, travel has to be paid, per diem has to be paid, staff have to be paid, office expenses have to be paid, vehicle fuel has to be paid, office automation has to be dealt with copier, copy paper, communication equipment such as microphones, recording machines, other ancillaries and office supporting machines, etc. Where are the negotiating members going to study the types governments—Guam, Samoa, Cook Island, Gilbert (Kiribati) Island, Puerto Rico, Fiji, Western Samoa, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Nauru, etc. Is the commission going to get legal and other types of help like political science emeritus, hire a law firm, or just one or two attorneys? University of Hawaii? East-West Center, University of Guam, Australia?

At this point, I am not aware of anyone being considered for commission membership. So, I am recommending several sharp guys. Jack S. Torres, Bill S. Torres, Pete Dela Cruz, Attorney Jose S. Dela Cruz, Attorney Robert T. Torres, former speaker Oscar C. Rasa, former speaker Ben N. Santos, Danny O. Quitugua, Diego T. Benavente, Luis A. Benavente, Pete A. Tenorio, Ike Quichocho. These are the people I am familiar with. There are, of course, some others who are equally sharp but that I feel that their jobs need them more. Just a guess. These are people who show good experience and ability that I have worked with and have observed. I do hope they are picked up when the time comes to pick up members. Congresswoman Ogumoro, I present you these citizens, sharp and educated.

Rudy M. Sablan
Garapan