We also want be free

A while back, an article on the newspaper appeared stating in general that Article 12, the land alienation provision of our Constitution does not impact our economy. Instead, there were world events that affected our economy.

First, I am in full agreement that our economy on this small island in our universe is indeed affected by world events. I do not agree, however, that Article 12 is not a factor in our economy.

When Article 12 was put in place, the Internet was not around. The spread of words and events was slow and limited. In other words, the world has changed and changed dramatically. No one is isolated nor can one isolate himself or herself.

There are signs around us that I feel that if Article 12 was not a hindrance, businesses in different forms would have developed. I am talking about the many empty big buildings that used to be garment factories. They could all be turned into storage of goods, making Saipan a warehouse center for goods out of Asia to the USA and from USA to Asia. We are under the U.S. flag and laws; a very positive item for businesses especially for large and overseas corporations.

Yet, to my knowledge, all of these buildings are vacant and deteriorating. Why? I venture to say that it is because it is only a 55-year lease as permitted by Article 12. At this point in time, there may only be 20 years or less remaining on the 55-year lease term. No reputable company or long-term investor would want to carry over the remainder of the lease term under a term and condition that he or she did not participate in or negotiate.

At one time, we are eligible to participate in the Federal Housing Administration single-family mortgage insurance programs and the foreclosure prevention program such as Hope for Homeowners and Making Home Affordable. This was stopped due to the provisions under Article 12. We learned about this from a memo received by our congressional representative, Gregorio Sablan, from the Congressional Research Service dated Oct. 15, 2009. This particular memorandum is seven pages long and can be obtained at the JP Center, ground floor, on Beach Road, Garapan.

The applicable portion of the memo reads: “by restricting who can acquire property in the CNMI, this clause (Article 12, Section 1 inserted here for clarity) could directly pose two problems related to FHA insurance. First, it could prevent HUD from taking title to the property in the event of default or foreclosure.”

“The second potential problem is that even if HUD did take title to the foreclosed property, the restrictions on who can acquire real property in the CNMI could limit FHA’s options in terms of selling the property in order to recoup its loss.”

There are major concerns about conveyance restriction that is imposed by Article 12. Many families could and would qualify for a loan to start their new house and be independent of their parents instead of being landless and homeless. We cannot even use land as collateral due to no one being able to insure land title for lending institutions to safeguard their investments. Article 12 issues are excluded from any land title coverage.

Abolishing Article 12 will not force anyone to sell his or her land. It will, however, give you total and complete ownership of your property. Our culture will not disappear because one is landless. Our culture is not tied to the land.

We talk about investors. We need to figure out what investors want and need. The days of the early ’80s and mid-’90s are gone and will never come back. The world has changed. We are but a very small place competing with other places with many more resources and people. There is a possibility that our island population will decline to no more than 38,000. What economy can be sustained with this level of population? Yet, the cost of essential items will be higher due to fixed costs. We have read in the paper that CUC needs to increase power rates to make up for the dramatic drop in power consumption. I do not think this is from people saving energy as much as from people leaving the island.

Where do we go? Perhaps we need to embrace changes and the fact that we need to be a part of the world community. We can still keep our culture but we also want be free.

Efrain F. Camacho
Navy Hill, Saipan