Protect our resources

It is so disturbing to know that a bill to waive a three year permit requirement is in existence and even worse, knowing that we are still giving away agricultural lots.

What is the rush anyway? And why are we still giving away public lands to a few? It is bad enough that we have to give away a house and lot, here we are giving away even bigger lots. Not only that they had been making money through farming it, we are giving them because they have been tilling the land.

Come-on, Mr. Legislators! Don’t you think we are going backwards? Instead of charging them for making money on our land, we are paying workers (DPL employees), attorneys and surveyors to guarantee those agricultural applicants the right to own it.

We must end the give away our agriculture lots. As a matter of fact, will the Committee on Natural Resources kindly make a law to end the give away and make a law for the indigenous to till any public land that is suitable for farming with no string attached? In doing so, you are creating healthy economy, people helping themselves and they’ll be paying taxes when ever they sell their produce.

Frankly, this is much better than seeing a tangantangan trees grow on rich soil. Actually, this is no different from those individuals who at one time moved to the Northern Island to help themselves with all the goodies there. It is sad that the Saipanese are paying for a small plot in Kagman to farm and the other CNMI people are using it for free and owning it in the end Not only that they are getting it for free; DPL is spending money to secure the give away.

I challenge our leaders to do us right by acting on the following suggestion to better protect our resources and make good on the intent of our Constitution.

End the agricultural give away and allow them to farm forever or until DPL needs it. My understanding of the word homestead is simply to build a home. No more, no less. Therefore, we should only be giving away a lot for the landless to build a home. And finally, since it is proven that some, if not most of them, had the opportunity to cash in on the lot that was given to them, DPL and the leaders should be mindful and see to it that those receiving free lots should not sell it unless for a good reason and that lots can only be transferred through inheritance. And one way of doing it is by having DPL’s name together with the recipient of the certificate. After all, the intent of the program is to help those landless build a home and certainly not to enrich themselves overnight only to become homeless, again.

Nick C. Sablan