CIP veto likely to stand

An override on Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio’s recent line-item veto on the CIP bill is not likely to go through despite widespread dissatisfaction from the Legislature over the drastic move, according to lawmakers.

Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez said the leadership in the upper house has not come up with a position against the veto of some capital improvement projects under the nearly $23 million appropriation measure passed by legislators.

Senators will await a new proposal from the Tenorio administration identifying the next batch of CIP-funded infrastructure plan of the government on Saipan, Rota and Tinian.

“They are going to give us a new version and probably we will just pass that rather than override the veto,” Villagomez said in an interview reacting to the governor’s rejection of most of the projects under the proposal.

Tenorio agreed on Wednesday to sign the measure into law to begin construction on the new prison for the Division of Corrections as well completion of the Marianas High School Gymnasium, which are both included in the plan.

Eight other proposed projects approved by the Legislature were vetoed in fear that inclusion of pet projects inserted at the last minute by legislators would compromise the integrity of the seven-year master plan.

Most of these, including expansion of Tinian airport as well as improvement of Rota airport runway, were included in the Senate amendment to the House measure.

Some senators, as well as local officials from Tinian and Rota, have called the decision as unfair, noting that these projects are needed to help their economies as well as to improve infrastructure in their municipalities.

House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Karl T. Reyes, who sponsored the bill, earlier has warned lawmakers against further delay in the release of local matching funds for federal grants set forth in the Section 702 of the Covenant.

These CIPs have already been approved by the Office of the Insular Affairs which the CNMI government must comply to receive the federal funds. A total of $154 million is at stake in the package which will be made available until 2002.

Local leaders are hoping to tap these funds to help resuscitate the local economy which has been reeling from the fallout of the recession in Asia, its main source of tourism revenues and investments.