Underground cable bill put on hold

The House of Representatives has put on hold the passage of a bill that aims to waive the fee for underground cable in the wake of vehement objection by the Marianas Public Lands Authority,

Rep. Clyde Norita, who authored House Bill 14-324, said the House would honor MPLA’s desire to hold negotiations with Verizon or its buyer, Pacific Telecom Inc., regarding the underground cable use.

“We’ll wait for the MPLA to report to us,” said Norita.

After being subpoenaed last week, MPLA officials showed up at a House session on Monday to speak on the proposed measure.

They label the proposal as “anti-indigenous and unconstitutional.”

MPLA board members Benita Manglona and Nick Nekai, as well as commissioner Ed Guerrero, said that contrary to the bill’s suggestion, the proposal to charge Verizon for burying cables in public lands would not drain the company’s coffers.

They said that Verizon generates revenues well over $30 million per year.

“MTC is a financially vibrant corporation paying its top executive over $150,000 per annum and making millions of dollars with a huge profit. Hardly a company on the verge of bankruptcy,” Guerrero said in a prepared statement.

During the hearing, Manglona and Nekai repeatedly said that MPLA is willing to negotiate “for a more reasonable rate” if they see that Verizon could hardly afford it.

The officials called on Verizon to open its books to justify a rental reduction.

The MPLA, however, admitted during the hearing that it would be the first time for MPLA to charge for underground cable use.

MPLA board legal counsel Ray Quichocho said such practice has not been done but he said that the MPLA is now doing “preliminary negotiation” with Verizon on the use of underground easements.

During the hearing, lawmakers learned that the MPLA has sent representatives to Manila to meet with the Delgados, the owner of PTI. Sources said those who took part in the trip were Quichocho and Nekai.

The MPLA further said the bill is unconstitutional in that it is an attempt to legislate the management and disposition of public lands by proposing to grant an easement for free.

Norita said in an interview that he is “happy that MPLA had been frank about its opinion.”

“Our meeting has been productive. I want to clarify, though, that it’s not only MPLA that’s concerned about indigenous protection. We, too, are protective of the indigenous,” he said.

He said that, while the bill is on hold pending the negotiation, it remains on the House calendar.