NMASA seeks Legislature’s help to takeover ‘deteriorating’ facility

The Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association wants the Legislature to appropriate the Commonwealth’s sports governing body a budget so it could take over and finally run the Oleai Sports Complex.

In a letter to House Speaker Eliceo D. Cabrera (R-Saipan) and Senate President Paul A. Manglona (Ind-Rota), NMASA president Michael A. White asked the Legislature for money to run the facility because “under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the CNMI’s premier sports facility continues to deteriorate, and has not been managed in a manner which maximizes its potential to serve our people.”

Just last week, the United Filipino Organization was forced to postpone its 2012 UFO Inter-Organization Basketball Friendship League after one of the fiberglass basketball backstops at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium was broken.

White also reiterated that under CNMI law “responsibility for the management and control of the Oleai Sports Complex is vested in the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association.”

He, however, said the lack of appropriation from the CNMI government has not allowed NMASA to exercise this function and this forced the organization to just allow the Division Sports and Recreation to operate and manage the facilities.

White said with advise from the Saipan Legislative Delegation, NMASA has submitted a budget request to the Governor’s Office the last two fiscal years-2012 and 2013-but to its disappointment the “budget request was not included in the budget submission transmitted to the Legislature by the Governor’s Office.”

The Oleai Sports Complex includes the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium, the Francisco “Tan Ko” M. Palacios Baseball Field, the Miguel Basa “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Ballfield, and the Oleai track oval football field.

A tug of war between NMASA and DCCA on the operations of the Oleai Sports Complex has been going on since last year.

This after Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb (R-Saipan) introduced a bill (House Bill 17-268) seeking to give NMASA the control of the complex.

In the pending House bill, NMASA’s control is only limited within the Oleai Sports Complex in accordance with the terms and conditions of a memorandum to be executed only among NMASA, the DCCA secretary, and the governor.

NMASA argues that under the law that created NMASA in 1984 (Public Law 4-66), the organization is responsible for the operation of the facility.

The statute said NMASA’s responsibilities include the operation, maintenance, and regulation of the sports facilities and fields in the Commonwealth in coordination with the DCCA, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Education, Department of Public Works, and Office of the Governor.