‘We paid most land compensations in history’

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres noted that no previous administration has paid more land compensation judgments as the current administration has in the history of the CNMI.

“[We] have paid the most land compensation payments in history. We have taken care of all the interest-bearing accounts. I know that we have paid all of our dues as much as we can. No administration has ever paid more land compensations than what we are paying today,” he told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

Torres gave the statement in response to criticism from Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo, who noted the CNMI’s knack for taking land from residents and not compensating them for it.

In some cases, the CNMI “simply stalls for years, dragging its feet before paying it,” said Govendo.

A Torres administration statement said that the administration has made it a “financial priority” to address “longstanding obligations and judgments against the government.”

“Governor Torres has been cognizant of the fact that these financial liabilities are an injustice to the many landowners who waited years for what is rightfully owed them,” said the statement, noting that the administration reduced the CNMI’s deficit by more than $23 million within Torres’ first year in office—a 10-percent reduction overall.

“The last time payouts to claimants were made was Aug. 22, 2013, when a total of $171,931.72 was paid to eight private landowners. That reduction has since grown, with large and small judgments now being paid off and compensation given to claimants,” the statement added.

Citing a 2017 Government Accountability Office report on the public debt of U.S. territories, the CNMI has made a large dent on its $251.7-million public debt in fiscal year 2005, which now stands at $144.7 million in fiscal year 2015.

“In a span of 10 years, the CNMI has effectuated a decrease in its public debt of almost half—42.5 percent. This figure also doesn’t include the governor and the Legislature’s commitment to addressing several longstanding government obligations such as land compensation and settlements over the last two years, which amount to an additional decrease in the debt by about $50 million,” noted the administration statement.

“These numbers outline the CNMI’s economic growth in the past decade, particularly since 2015,” said the statement.