Resolution for $500 gas voucher passes Legislature

The Senate joint resolution in support of implementing a $500 gas voucher program that will help CNMI residents in buying increasingly expensive gas has passed the House of Representatives and will now move to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres for his approval.

During a House session yesterday, 16 members of the House of Representatives voted “yes” to passing Senate Joint Resolution 22-08 in support of a $500 gas voucher program, with one abstention.

That doesn’t mean that you can now expect to get a $500 voucher that you can use to buy fuel. A join resolution is essentially a recommendation or request from the Senate and the House to the governor. The governor has the power to grant this request, in this case authorizing the allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to subsidize these vouchers.

Rep. Donald Manglona (Ind-Rota), the only member who abstained, informed House Speaker Edmund Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) that he would like to abstain from voting due to a conflict of interest that he did not disclose.

During discussion on the resolution, Rep. Tina Sablan (D-Saipan) said she fully supports the bill as it would alleviate the hardship many face due to the continuous increase in fuel prices.

“I fully support this joint resolution. I would like to thank our colleagues in the Senate, specifically Sen. Edith Deleon Guerrero (D-Saipan), for championing this form of relief. We all know and have felt the pain ourselves of rising gas prices in the CNMI and this would really alleviate some of that pain at the gas pump,” she said.

Joint Resolution 22-08 asks Torres and Finance Secretary David Atalig to provide financial assistance to meet the increased demand of fuel costs in the CNMI by implementing a $500 fuel voucher program.

“The residents of the Commonwealth are also in need of government financial assistance to ease the burden of the high fuel costs on all three islands. The 22nd Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature hereby requests the governor and secretary of Finance to implement a $500 gas voucher program in the Commonwealth,” the resolution states.

The resolution further states that the CNMI needs this assistance because of the many hardships the community has faced in the last few years.

“This legislative body recognizes that there are many hardships in which the people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are faced with, and additionally, the citizens have endured an abundance of physical, emotional, and financial constraints as a result of the evolving global pandemic that is associated with the COVID-19 virus; and in addition to the various hardships imposed by economic turmoil caused by the global pandemic, the NMI residents face substantial increases in fuel prices,” the resolution states.

According to Saipan Tribune archives, local oil companies increased their prices earlier this month by 20 cents with regular fuel now $5.96 for a gallon from $5.76. Supreme fuel also went up from $6.21 per gallon to $6.41 while diesel is now $6.78 from $6.48.