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Teno asked Resolve backlog of cases on private land acquisition
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Posted on Feb 20 2001
A legislative move extending maximum flexibility for the Commonwealth government to source out appropriations to settle long-standing land acquisition claims was recently passed in the lower house.
Citing enormous problems faced by several Capital Improvement Projects due to unsettled land compensation, the House of Representatives also asked the government to intervene and address backlog cases on private land acquisition.
House Resolution 12-115 lodged by Rep. William S. Torres appealed to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to immediately resolve problems on private land acquisition and resolve long-standing disputes on pre-war short land exchanges to expedite several government projects.
Mr. Torres averred that enthusiasms of developers are likely to wane because of unanticipated difficulties of unsettled land compensation notwithstanding the continued delays faced by several CIP programs.
“CIP’s are often abruptly halted, if not stymied indefinitely or totally abandoned altogether due to unsettled issue of land acquisition and compensation,” the legislator explained.
In addition to this, the representative urged the governor to define realistically timetable for an installment compensation schedule and methods of payments.
The resolution further stipulated that the government should not exceed ten years to settle claims from the date o submission of all required documentation and to impanel a group of experts on public financing to develop a concrete and workable plan.
The workplan should facilitate the implementation of the resolution within 180 working days, Mr. Torres said.
The resolution also gives the administration maximum flexibility to exercise due diligence in considering funding sources to integrate private land acquisition cost to the capital development.
Mr. Torres also prod the government to actively participate in floatation of bonds, to establish interim private lending institution financing and tap the assistance of the Commonwealth Development Authority and the Marianas Public Land Trust to effectively implement the program.
