Palacios, other top officials share views on significance of Covenant Day

Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and other top government officials have shared their views on the importance and significance of Covenant Day, which is celebrated every March 24 in the CNMI.

In response to Saipan Tribune’s question, Gov. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang said in a joint statement yesterday that the spirit and the letter of the Covenant are even more important and relevant now, as the CNMI confronts economic hardships, geopolitical tensions, and other challenges.

“We look forward to the conversations being hosted around the Covenant’s significance and its impact on our islands, and encourage the community to engage in the activities that have been organized to commemorate its passage,” said Palacios and Apatang.

They said negotiated over the course of 27 months by members of the Marianas Political Status Commission, the Covenant underscores principles that protect the safety and well-being of the people, promote community health and welfare, promote free enterprise and the advancement of economic development, promote justice, expand educational opportunities for the students, and most importantly, improve the overall standard of living for each individual that calls the islands home.

Palacios and Apatang said as they prepare to commemorate Covenant Day, a day when the islands entered into one of the most unique political relationships in the world, a Commonwealth in political union with the United States, they urge residents also to reflect on the enduring legacies of the founding fathers and mothers, who forged a robust and strategic partnership that has endured for nearly half a century.

Senate President Edith E. DeLeon Guerrero (D-Saipan) on the other hand, said the Covenant established CNMI’s unique political relationship with the U.S. government, giving the Commonwealth the right to self government and the opportunity to decide and revisit matters of mutual interest what is in the best interest of both governments.

“It is also through this uniqueness of our relationship that we as the CNMI in the interest of her people are able to achieve more as an equal partner in this political relationship,” DeLeon Guerrero said.

House of Representatives Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) said Covenant Day is an important day in the CNMI’s history.

“It is basically the beginning of our Commonwealth as we know today and also defined our relationship with the United States,” Villagomez said.