MPLA disburses nearly $2M for land comp payments
The Marianas Public Lands Authority said it has disbursed some $1.8 million for land compensation.
MPLA commissioner Henry S. Hofschneider reported in yesterday’s board meeting that the amount was used to pay out 22 land claims.
This came even as MPLA board chairperson Ana Demapan-Castro disclosed that the compensation process has been delayed due to problematic land titles.
“It’s hard getting titles cleared so it’s delaying the process,” said the chair.
Earlier, she also said that the land compensation process dragged on due to various unresolved legal issues. These include pending court proceedings and current lease arrangements.
In many cases, she said the ownership of lands due for compensation need to be cleared first in court as they involve names of people other than the ones written in the original document.
Sometimes, she said, marital issues such as divorce also affect the land compensation process.
She said lease agreements entered into by claimants affect title clearance and thus delay the land settlement.
As far as the MPLA is concerned, she said it will not make any payment unless it gets the assurance that the title is clean. “It’s MPLA’s job to really make sure that everything is clear. So the process really takes time.”
The MPLA began the actual issuance of payment checks on Feb. 13 this year.
The MPLA initially received $5 million out of the $40 million bond money to pay off landowners with completed claim folders.
Previously, MPLA said that out of 62 land claimants who received MPLA compensation offers, 43 have accepted the offers while nine turned them down.
Meantime, of the $40-million bond, only about $27 million will be used for land compensation since $11 million of it had been allotted for a pending prison project and $1.5 million had been used to pay the underwriter for cost of the issuance.
The government has 30 years to pay off the loan at an annual interest of 6.75 percent.
