Rota most depleted municipality—Hocog

Aubry Hocog

Rota is the most depleted municipality in the CNMI, according to Rota Mayor Aubry Hocog last Thursday, and she said the Rota Mayor’s Office is in dire need of assistance to continue to provide various services to the community.

Speaking at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing at the Rota Courthouse on the Rota municipality’s proposed budget for 2024, Hocog also asked support from lawmakers in lifting Public Law 18-1 relative to the collection of the Hotel Occupancy Tax that provides support of no more than 2% or $400,000 from the MVA Trust Fund each year to be remitted to the municipalities of Rota and Tinian to be used to implement charter flights, tourism incentives, and promotional programs.

The mayor said that Gov. Arnold I. Palacios is absolutely correct when he stated during their last Council meeting that Rota is the most depleted municipality.

Hocog said their top priority includes the maintaining the safety and cleanliness of the island, improving the quality of life for people, and exploring solutions to help stimulate the local economy.

She underscored the need to clear their existing debt, stabilize their efforts that involve local and business leaders, and foster innovative ways of generating revenue by exploring what resources they have and what value added items they can produce from it.

The mayor said the additional Hotel Occupancy Tax funds are what will help them market and launch or proceed with Luta campaigns to attract and welcome visitors and tourists to travel to the island.

Hocog pointed out that her team has been aggressively applying for all types of federal grants from various grantors with the assistance of the Office of Grants Management.

She said they have a plan with the Rota Legislative Delegation to improve the island’s infrastructure, as well as build facilities that will not only cater to the local people, but to everyone who visit Rota.

“It is our hope to promote opportunities for our children and our people so they may be exposed to sharpen their abilities and skills to become productive citizens and members of our community. But this is not enough. We need help,” Hocog said.

The mayor said the cost of living on Rota is exorbitant and that its people are just able to survive by subsidizing their lifestyle by hunting, fishing, and farming.

Similarly, she said, the federal government recognizes this as they have augmented the welfare assistance and correlated the cost of goods to a figure that is reasonable and fair to best provide for their families in need.

“I plead with this body to do the same and provide support to the Municipality of Rota relative to our needs,” said Hocog, adding that they cannot be treated similar to other municipalities because all goods and services on Rota are more expensive than that of neighboring islands.

“We understand the economic situation we’re in. But we hope that you can fairly balance…the needs of each island,” Hocog added.

Rep. Ralph N. Yumul (Ind-Saipan) chairs the Ways and Means Committee.

Rota

House Ways and Means Committee