Covenant claims it remains the only party of the people

A day after Jack Villagomez resigned from the CNMI Republican Party over a Pew dispute with Pete A. Tenorio, the CNMI Covenant Party is saying that it is the only political party upholding the rights and interests of the people of the CNMI.

“As you can plainly see, some members of the CNMI Republican Party are endorsing the Pew Charitable Trust proposal that would forever strip the CNMI of control over its precious natural resources and opportunities for economic development,” said Thomas J. Camacho, an officer of the party, in a statement issued yesterday.

Camacho, the party’s second vice president, said the Covenant Party joins the CNMI Legislature, the Fitial Administration and, most recently, the Mayor of the Northern Islands in expressing grave reservations about the controversial and much debated Pew Charitable Trust proposal.

“The Pew Group is pushing a very hard sell,” said Camacho. “They cannot take no for an answer.”

Camacho also noted that the CNMI Covenant Party is the only political party to consistently oppose federalization of the CNMI’s immigration and minimum wage laws.

“Many leaders of the CNMI Republican Party, especially Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, openly endorsed the federalization of the CNMI and even backed the granting of permanent residency status for long-term guest workers,” said Camacho.

Camacho noted that even Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, a noted Republican, co-sponsored the Tina Sablan bill to grant alien workers long-term residency status. Rep. Ed Salas, another CNMI Republican, also co-sponsored the same bill.

Camacho said the CNMI Covenant party respects the CNMI’s nonresident guest workers, but the workers should understand that they are here to supplement rather than replace the local workforce.

“Maximum local employment must be our first priority,” said Camacho. “Nonresident workers should not be allowed to remain for five years if the CNMI market does not have jobs for them or if those jobs can be filled with local American or U.S. citizen-workers.”

“When it comes to protecting the CNMI’s vital interests, whether it be against the Pew Charitable Trust or long-term residency status for alien workers at the expense of local jobs, the Covenant Party remains the people’s only choice,” said Camacho. [B][I](PR)[/I][/B]