Mayor works to unify groups to create safer, cleaner Saipan

In a bid to curb crime and beautify Saipan, Mayor Ramon Blas “RB” Camacho recently met with 17 leaders representing the diverse ethnic groups on island to discuss possible solutions and methods that they can do together to promote a “safe community, safe villages and a clean island.”

The meeting, held last Friday afternoon at the Saipan Mayor’s Office in Susupe, was attended by representatives from the Chamorro Association, Carolinian Affairs Office, the United Filipino Organization, Bangladeshi Cultural Group, the Palau Community Association, Thailand Community Association, the Japanese Consulate, Chinese Association, and the Korean and Chuukese communities.

“As the mayor for this municipality, I want to establish a connection …” said Camacho, expressing his desire to work with all ethnic groups.

He highlighted the crimes and problems plaguing villages. “The police cannot handle it themselves. Where are the resources here on our island? The community.”

Camacho discussed the importance of keeping the island clean and his office’s efforts in doing that, and one of the ways is through the Adopt-a-Place program.

Camacho said a willing ethnic group could adopt a place and place it under the care of that group.

He also shared plans of kickstarting town hall meetings and after-school recreational sports in which he hopes to see diverse communities involved.

Along with these plans, the mayor said he hopes to establish a cultural type of festival where the different ethnic groups on Saipan can come together and share their culture and food with one another. Should these plans come to pass, he proposes to have the event at the Sugar King Park

“A booth for the Chuukese, a booth for the Chinese, a booth for the Bangladeshi to promote their cultures…. Let’s promote each other,” he said.

As for funding, the group agreed that establishing a nonprofit organization is ideal.

Sharing his experience in soliciting funding—whether through grant writing, inquiring from private businesses, or leveraging educational tax credit, local advocate John Bolis Gonzales said that one source of funding could be the CNMI Office of Grants Management.

Gonzales said non-profit organizations can also help fund cultural projects.

“I think it would also be very, very beneficial that we form a non-profit organization, so that way companies and people will be able to gladly donate,” he said. “And that way it’s transparent.”

The representatives also shared concerns about neglected public park restrooms, neighborhood crime, and excessive trash in the ocean and on land.

Palau Community Association’s Ian Otobed shared that, although Saipan is beautiful and has many historic sites, he is concerned about the trash that litters many sites in the northern part of the island.

“An example is…the cliff lines,” Otobed said. “…The cliff line from south to north is littered with trash. These are not marine debris. We know the difference between marine debris and people’s trash. And these are from the guys who fish on the cliffs. We’ve caught them many, many times and we’ve warned them and we’ve continued to pick up trash and it continues to happen.”

CAO executive assistant Felix Nogis cited a document provided by the mayor that indicated that there were 948 open cases before the Department of Public Safety in Garapan alone. With a total of over 4,400 open cases on Saipan, he wonders if homelessness and drugs is a factor.

“If that’s one of the major things affecting our community now, I hope that whatever effort is developed by this group will address those issues,” Nogis said.

The group agreed to work with the mayor in not creating a non-profit diverse group and come up with ideas, collaborative efforts, and solutions to better help the CNMI.