We were serious

I was acting Senate vice president for a day several days ago and I found the nine senators friendly, congenial, and entertaining. I was, especially, happy that I was assigned to be with my nephew, Senate vice president Arnold I. Palacios, as his alter ego. Palacios is not new to the CNMI Legislature. He has been there after his graduation from college in Oregon

He was also rge secretary of DLNR prior to his being elected senator from Saipan. So I was not surprised of his understanding and currency on the issues facing Saipan, as well as CNMI-wide problems, welfare, and forward progress, and that includes the entire world. He was also “quick on his feet” on the Senate floor issues and rules of procedures. I was amazed. With his procedural coaching, I ran the session smoothly.

That day was the “Man’Amko (senior citizens) Take-Over Day, and many of the man‘amko (senior citizens) were assigned to various governmental offices to experience the working atmosphere of the individual offices and department. Two man‘amko were detailed to the Judiciary. One of them was assigned as the acting Superior Court presiding judge (while the other was assigned to the chief justice’s office as acting chief justice of the CNMI Supreme Court.

Some others were assigned to the various governmental offices, agencies, and departments such as Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, the Garapan Fire Station, and still others were assigned to the Legislature. I was one of the three acting senators from Saipan. There was a delegation from Tinian, three senators, and several others who were assigned to the House of Representatives. There were delegations to the House of Representatives from the Saipan man‘amko as well. Each one of us, senators, presented our concerns about life and progress in our respective island communities. Acting senator Jesus Malus discussed poverty as affected by the current minimum wage both in the government and private sectors. Acting senator Guiao reflected similar concerns.

When I took the floor, I expressed my concerns about the current issues regarding the fate of the CWs, the domino effect it will cause by sudden population drop, the effect of it on the marketplace, the apartment-rents, the hotel and motel occupancies, the fact that tourism is not going to help much when we don’t have enough customers and utility-users to enable enterprises to survive, the CNMI land-lease money and how it could be used, like paying the land owners for their lands taken via eminent domain. I also expressed my concern about our being a tax-haven territory for “loaded” investors like Best Sunshine, for one, and I made an impromptu calculation on how much, revenue-wise, we could be getting. Even at one percent tax on the “income” for one year, that would definitely amount to more than $1,000 each year, and a good source of revenue for us. But, life is a mystery. I also found that my cohorts assigned to the Senate were really concerned about community life, the minimum wage and the fact that those minimum wage earners couldn’t find their way out of the poverty guideline, so they’ve become spendthrifts and shop-smart. The time we spent expressing our concerns about our community life and what could be in the future through the “Gypsy glass-bowl” showed that people could be really serious about life here in the CNMI, given the opportunity. And when we presented out concerns on the Senate Floor, I noticed that our characters and attitudes changed. We became unusually serious. Our mindset locked on matters of community concern. Our facial expressions changed. We tried to force smiles to lighten up the serious floor atmosphere. At the end of the Senate session, it seemed as if our thinking on issues changed, too. I do hope it does for the better now. Thank you Senate vice oresident Arnold I. Palacios, Sen. Sixto Igisomar, and Sen. Justo Quitugua, as well as Tinian Sen. Jude Hofschneider, and the others, for your senatorial courtesy, congeniality, smiles, light jokes, sweets, and coffee, and really polite staff, to remove any nervousness we, the man‘amko, may have carried onto the Senate floor. Danke Schoen.

Rudy M. Sablan
Garapan