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AG’s Cup tackles Article 12
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Posted on May 10 1999
A sophomore student of the Marianas Baptist Academy is this year’s Attorney General’s Cup Winner.
Ramona Concepcion, who favored keeping the Article 12 but with certain revisions, bested other six speakers from various high schools in the CNMI.
The 16th Annual AG’s Cup, which focused its discussion on whether land ownership should continue to be restricted to NMI descent, had gathered speakers who mostly favored the restriction.
Except second place winner Amanda Borja from Mount Carmel, who batted for its abolition, other contestants spoke about the indigenous culture and local identity in land ownership.
“You have a choice to prevent other people from raping your islands,” said Airika Actouka, who tied with Borja in the second place. She arrived from Hawaii in 1995 and shared the island’s sad transformation where natives are now mere displays for tourists.
“Our land is our identity. If we lose our land, we lose our identity,” stated third place winner, Julie Jane Castro of Marianas High School.
According to Borja, the only one opposed to Article 12, the land ownership restriction did not benefit the NMI descent, instead it scared away investors and intensified racial conflicts.
“As part of the U.S., we should stay true to the value of equal opportunity …. and it has done so little to preserve our culture,” she said.
Although Concepcion wanted to keep it, she talked about amending the law to benefit the entire indigenous population. She said 30 percent of the local population have been listed under the welfare program.
“It is not designed to benefit everybody, few are enjoying good life at the expense of this Article 12,” she said, citing the Indian reservations in the U.S. where profit derived from the land is shared by the entire population and not just by few.
Judges for this year’s competition, held Friday at the Guma Hustisia, included Acting Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Cinta Kaipat, Associate Judge John Manglona, Assistant A.G. Sally Pfund and Loren Sutton.
