Rota retirees sign petition against SB 19-21

More than 100 retirees and pension beneficiaries residing on Rota signed a petition urging Gov. Eloy S. Inos to reject House Local Bill 19-21.

The petition was sent to Inos’ office on Wednesday, according to Pedro Q. Dela Cruz, former vice chair of the Northern Mariana Islands Retirement Fund, one of the signatories of the petition.

The petition cited amendments being introduced by HLB 19-21 that can be “detrimental to the livelihood of retirees and beneficiaries” relying solely on retirement benefits.

The 19th Rota Legislative Delegation on March 20 adopted HLB 19-21 on first and final reading in a session on Rota.

Unlike a House bill, the proposed legislation will not go through the House of Representatives or the Senate and will instead be transmitted directly to the Office of the Governor for signing.

One of the amendments of HLB 19-21 is on the $2 million fund allocated for Rota and Tinian, which will be used to pay the 25 percent reduction of retirees’ and beneficiaries’ pensions.

The $2 million came from an exclusive gaming license in accordance to Public Law 18-56.

But HLB 19-21 proposes to reallocate and transfer the $2 million to the Rota Municipal Treasurer, thus changing the primary objective of PL 18-56.

The funds are currently being deposited into sub-accounts for the First and Second Senatorial Districts.

This amendment deletes the mandate to pay the retirees first, as mandated by PL 18-56.

HLB 19-21 also replaces the deleted language with a new objective, stating that “Section (1) Supplement the First Senatorial District Retirees and Beneficiaries until such time that the Commonwealth Government is able to pay the entire obligation.”

According to the petition, this language “is not definitive and can be interpreted in many different opinions.”

The petition stated that HLB 19-21 “grants the Rota Legislative Delegation carte blanche authority to reprogram the allotted funds and can redirect the usage of the funds according to their political priorities thus leaving the fate of the retirees at their mercy.”

The petition further said the manner in which the bill passed the Senate during the Rota regular session “is also questionable and beg the question of whether the ‘Open Government Act’ is violated because this bill was not published in the agenda. There was no committee report nor input from the public.”

Among the more than 100 retirees that signed the petition are Julian S. Calvo, former Senate president of the 5th Legislature; Denise “Tanya” R. King, a retiree and member of the Board of Education of the Public School System; Carmen H. Atalig, a retiree and a former school principal; and retired Sgt. Major Herman M. Atalig.