FLASHBACK June 21, 1999-2001

Rebate cut pushed[/B]

The chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee has thrown support behind a recommendation to cut income rebates in the Commonwealth in efforts to finance critical infrastructure development on the island. Rep. Karl T. Reyes said the current rebate on personal income of up to 90 percent should be reduced to 70 percent, while corporate income rebate should go down from 50 percent to 30 percent.

The Department of Public Health has started checking the Commonwealth food wholesalers to find out if they have imported products from Belgium particularly chicken and eggs which may have been contaminated with cancer-causing agent dioxin. “While we believe that there is little cause for concern, we urge the public to take care in purchasing food products and to contact the Bureau of Environmental Health if they have any questions,” said Joseph Kevin Villagomez, DPH secretary.

The Legislature will have to amend existing laws to remove benefits provided to nonresident workers if the federal government succeeds in its plan to apply the U.S. minimum wage standards in the Commonwealth, according to House Speaker Diego T. Benavente. But he has assured the private sector that the island government would step up efforts to block attempts in the Congress to strip CNMI authority over local immigration, minimum wage and customs laws.

Quarantine alerted on food from FSM[/B]

The CNMI government has mobilized its quarantine personnel stationed at both the islands’ air and sea transport facilities to guard against the entry of all food items from the Federated States of Micronesia feared to be contaminated with cholera-causing bacteria. The Quarantine Division of the Department of Lands and Natural Resources has been instructed by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to strictly enforce the restriction on the entry of food from the island-nation until it is cleared of the infectious disease.

The Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands has asked the House of Representatives to defer action on a proposed measure that will amend the Business Gross Revenue tax because it would have a negative effect on the hotel and tourism industry. In a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chair Antonio M. Camacho, David Wiseman, legal counsel of HANMI, said the hotel association does not see any need to amend the Gross Revenue provisions of the Code since this concern has already been addressed under existing laws.

The number of loans issued by the Commonwealth Development Authority that are considered non-performing remained at a tolerable level primarily because of recently-enforced measures that reduce average monthly mortgage by borrowers, according to Executive Director Marylou S. Ada. CDA has launched a program aimed at educating its clients on ways to become better borrowers, underscoring the importance of a good credit history in their future loan applications.

Alarming level of nitrate found in Kagman wells[/B]

The results of the tests done on the water wells in Kagman are now out and they are not looking good. According to Rep. Tom Pangelinan, the Northern Marianas College and the US Geological Service, which conducted the tests, have found out that water taken from the wells in Kagman showed levels of nitrate that almost exceed the maximum allowable limits set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The Commonwealth’s tourism industry continues to reel from hard economic times, with April’s hotel occupancy rate dipping 7.5 percent, which translates to an eleven-month low. Figures obtained from the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands indicate that the hotel occupancy rate regressed from 60.65 percent in March to a shade 56 percent the following month. April’s hotel occupancy rate, the lowest in almost a year, represents a very insignificant growth from last year of the same month’s 55.37 percent.