House calls public hearing on 5-year limit stay

In an apparent attempt to head off potential divisive issue, the House of Representatives decided yesterday to call a public hearing on the controversial initiative seeking a five-year stay limit on nonresident workers in the Commonwealth.

The hearing will be held next Tuesday, September 7, at the House chamber in Capitol Hills.

Rep. Herman Palacios, chair of the Labor and Immigration Committee, said the town meeting will seek comments and inputs from various sectors in the community before the House votes on the proposal.

“There has been a lot of controversy (over the initiative) between the Legislature and the administration. We will allow the public to make comments to see what’s the best thing for us to do,” he told reporters.

Proposed by Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez, Senate Legislative Initiative 11-5 will amend the Constitution to mandate alien workers who arrive on or after March 5, 1999 to leave the island after five years of stay.

Its proponent has defended the measure as part of the reform efforts to curb the number of nonresidents here and provide more opportunities for locals to join the workforce in the private sector.

But opponents have dismissed the proposal as too stringent, citing that once is it placed in the Constitution, it would be impossible for the Commonwealth to take it back if and when it sees the need for more guest workers here.

The Senate passed the initiative early this year, but the House has dilly-dallied on voting due to deep division within the body on the proposal.

Last August 17, the House cut short a session yesterday in a move to avoid a potential serious conflict among its leaders over the initiative.

Members of the Legislature need to pass the proposal with at least two-thirds voting in favor before it can be included in the balloting during the November midterm elections.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has considered the measure punitive, noting the Commonwealth will still need foreign manpower to complement the small local labor pool here.

Meanwhile, a legislation seeking tighter rules for entry of alien workers into the CNMI was passed by the House during its two-hour session yesterday.

Senate 11-135, offered by Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, now heads to the governor for signing. It will limit foreign workers from securing health certificates and character background clearance only from U.S.-approved clinics and agencies in their country of origin.

The proposed law is touted as part of labor and immigration reforms being undertaken by the Tenorio administration ahead of the forthcoming hearings scheduled by U.S. Congress in Washington D.C. next month that will tackle conditions in the Northern Marianas.