Torres turns to MPLT, which turns to DPL

The administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres is exploring options to fund the building of permanent houses for victims of Typhoon Soudelor through a similar framework used in prior years to fund pressing utility matters using Marianas Public Land Trust funds loaned to the government.

But it’s a wait-and-see approach if the Department of Public Lands has the money to advance this principal to the public land trust, who will in turn loan it to the government, to meet the unmet needs of victims nine months after the typhoon.

The Commonwealth Advocates for Recovery Efforts in January identified an unmet need of $2.48 million to rebuild and repair the homes of these Northern Marianas descent affected by the typhoon.

“The governor recognizes that housing issues continue to be a serious concern following Typhoon Soudelor and is making every effort to explore options to provide greater housing security for those who were and are still doing what they can to cope with the loss of their homes,” the Torres administration said in a statement to Saipan Tribune.

Last month, DPL remitted some $800,000 after negotiating release of an account in the Bank of Saipan, following a letter from MPLT regarding Torres’ request to fund rebuilding.

In a March 7 letter, obtained by Saipan Tribune, MPLT chair Martin Ada notified DPL that Torres was seeking funding to help NMD’s whose houses were damaged by Soudelor and Typhoon Champi.

He said that since MPLT is unable per the Constitution to distribute trust principal, they were “interested in knowing the current resources being held” by DPL that may be distributed to the trust.

“As with the last distribution of $5 million in December 2014, which was loaned to the CNMI to fund the [Commonwealth Utility Corp.] stipulated order, any new distribution from DPL may similarly be used to meet the administration’s needs.”

In their March 10 response, DPL Secretary Marianne Teregeyo said that the fate of monies while in MPLT’s custody, after transferred from DPL to the trust—whether invested in fiduciary grade investments, or lent to the CNMI government—is entirely up to the board of trustees.

“As for the funds currently held in DPL’s bank accounts, our annual audit is in progress and we intend on remitting excess amounts after the audit,” Teregeyo said.

MPLT board consultant Bruch MacMillan explained that they had a meeting with Torres, where the governor expressed interest in monies from MPLT. Trust officials, in turn, pointed to monies they believe DPL has been “holding that was due to us,” MacMillan said.

“The only time we’ve gotten money from DPL recently has been because of a crisis,” he said, pointing to some $3.5 million received in past years to fund the Agrekko lease of generators at CUC, whose generators then were in a dire state and needed replacement.

That amount was paid off against future distributions to the general fund. Similarly, another $4 million was distributed, which was used to help CUC pay past power bills.

Another $5 million from DPL in December 2014 was a result from a CUC stipulated order to satisfy the Environmental Protection Agency requirements.

“Similar to the prior emergencies, [the government] got DPL to release $5 million to us as a distribution, with strings attached that we had to lend it back to the central government to fund the stipulated orders,” MacMillan said.

This essentially means that MPLT has a $5-million loan with the central government that’s to be paid off through future distributions in the next three to four years.

This money comes from the public land leases and was treated as a principal contribution to the trust.

“In response to the governor’s request for additional monies from MPLT, the chairman told him that MPLT would be willing to work with them on providing a similar arrangement if DPL were to provide us with another distribution of monies,” MacMillan said.

“…We don’t really know how much they have,” he added. “But if they could provide us another distribution to our principal we could entirely do a similar transaction. And loan it back to central government. And use that for Soudelor victims.”