Street naming project sparks racial debate

The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation failed yesterday to resolve differences on the long-stalled street naming project of the Office of the Mayor as members fought over whether Chamorro or Carolinian names will be used for the plan.

This was the same argument when the lawmaking body tackled the proposal last December which ended only after Saipan legislators agreed to provide a 90-day review to consider a recommendation from the Carolinian community.

That period expired a few months ago and some legislators charged local officials of not taking into account the suggestion since the Office of the Mayor has presented the same plan that had drawn protests in the past.

Delegation chair Rep. Heinz Hofschneider attempted to trace the apparent snub on the Carolinian’s proposal, grilling Mayor Jose Sablan and fiscal officer Rey Diaz.

Both officials claimed innocence on the charges, although Diaz told legislators that a Carolinian representative had ignored the invitation to attend the street naming commission created by the municipal government.

“The commission feels that the change is not necessary this time and adopts the previous street naming plan,” he said during the day-long SNILD session.

Visibly emotional over the issue, Rep. Melvin Faisao questioned the legality of the action as the Carolinian’s proposal attached to the project was totally ignored.

“The name does not reflect Carolinians,” he explained. “For Mr. Diaz to say that any name more than 12 (characters) should not be included as most Carolinian names are, for me that’s denying the existence of Carolinians.”

Asked Faisao: “How can I promote my cultural heritage, if they deny my Carolinian existence?”

The representative has been in the forefront to assign Carolinian names in at least half of the streets on Saipan as part of the four-year long project. He has previously blocked attempts to approve the initial proposal without input from the Carolinian community.

Long-delayed project: The move has delayed efforts to put in place these names necessary to make it easier for the U.S. Postal Service to identify location on the island.

Other legislators believed the commission had already taken the input of all sectors on the island when they drafted the master street map. Rep. Manuel A. Tenorio alleged that the new proposal has names “almost everything in Carolinian.”

House Majority Floor Leader Ana S. Teregeyo made a motion to accept Faisao’s proposal, saying the Carolinian community “should be respected” — an action that was largely ignored.

She made another attempt to seek a compromise, suggesting that where Carolinian population is large, such as in Tanapag, Oleai and other villages north of Saipan, street names should reflect their culture.

“In the future, Carolinians will continue to scatter around the island. Will they have the rights to name the streets after their culture,” asked Rep. Timmo Olopai.

Because the debate was abruptly ended at lunch time, the delegation agreed to further review the plan until all concerns have been addressed.

Street naming for Saipan has been hampered by bureaucratic problems over the last 10 years and the task has yet to be completed despite the creation of the commission in 1997.

According to the law implemented early this year, the situation is reaching crisis proportion and, especially in these tough economic times, the Legislature finds that the CNMI needs organization of this sort to encourage economic efficiency.