Use of MPLT funds to pay landowners opposed

The Marianas Public Land Trust has opposed a legislative initiative filed in the House of Representatives that will seek to tap its own funds to pay landowners who gave up their properties to the government for public use.

MPLT trustees said the measure would take away their authority to manage investments of the agency in order to benefit few residents primarily from Saipan.

House Legislative Initiative 12-3 will affect the investment policy set forth by the MPLT and curtail the growth of its capital for the next 21 years, they said in their testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee.

The panel, chaired by Rep. Dino M. Jones, is reviewing the proposal before recommending an action by the full House. The initiative seeks to amend Article 11 of the CNMI Constitution, which must be presented to the people in a referendum.

MPLT expressed concern on the proposal to dilute its authority to manage investments of the trusts, noting it has always been its policy to balance the current income needs to those of the future income beneficiaries.

But the initiative will remove this power for a 21-year period that will only result to the principal fund balance remaining in the same level until 2023 because it will be required to invest its assets solely in fixed-income securities, according to the trustees.

“Is this going to be fair to the future beneficiaries,” they asked, citing intended target of the amendment which is a small number of primarily Saipan persons whose land have been seized for public purpose.

“Its scope will deny benefits to many hundreds more who will not be able to benefit from enhanced capital growth accruing to the Trust over the coming year,” added the trustees.

Noting projects and programs where the MPLT funds have been invested, they stressed many hundreds more Northern Marianas indigenous residents are going to be deprived of their benefits from the trusts.

“Is it the intention of the Legislature to cripple MPLT’s ability to evaluate other local investment opportunities which benefit the Commonwealth as a whole as opposed to this initiative which favors only a limited number of persons?”

The Trust divests millions of dollars of its income every year to the CNMI general fund to finance vital programs, including homestead development.

Last month, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio signed a law that would appropriate some $3.5 million of the MPLT funds for a home loan program of the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation. This will be offset from the $1.2 million paid by the agency to the treasury annually.

Lawmakers have been seeking ways to settle claims of hundreds of families who have been awaiting payment from the government for properties it acquired.

Initial estimates placed the amount to between $70 million to $80 million from dealings done as far back as early in the 90’s, involving more than 200 properties now owned by the government.

While the government appropriated $2.5 million in 1997 to provide partial payment to some landowners, there was no funding budgeted in the last two years.

Among the possible measures being considered are bond flotation and outside borrowing which lawmakers hope would generate sufficient funds to pay the landowners.

Mr. Tenorio has previously expressed support for these plans, to reduce its debts to landowners, that had been brought by the previous Legislature. None came through, however, as the government remained under severe cash flow problems.