Tang claims Senate president’s APGA statement patently false
NMI Settlement Fund Trustee Joyce C.H. Tang said Senate President Edith DeLeon Guerrero’s (D-Saipan) statement at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting regarding the Alternative Payment of Greater Amount for the period of FY 2018-2020 is patently false.
In a letter sent to the Senate last July 16, 2024, Tang wrote, “APGA did not receive any payment for the period covering FY 2018-FY 2020. This is because the government’s total revenue reported in its audited financials for these years did not meet the threshold to trigger APGA. It would be helpful to understand how APGA is calculated, and the math will confirm that APGA is not due for these periods.”
Tang’s letter is in response to DeLeon Guerrero’s recent Chamber presentation wherein she said, “there’s an overpayment of about $25.6 million from the fiscal year 2018 to the fiscal year 2020 that the CNMI government paid to the Settlement Fund, according to their payment of the alternative greater amount…”
Tang emphasized in the letter that the settlement agreement requires the government to make an additional payment to the Settlement Fund (the APGA), if a threshold annual revenue is met. This threshold is determined by calculating the difference of 17% of the government’s total annual revenue (17% of Total Annual Revenue) and the Minimal Annual Payment (MAP) paid and referred to the 4.2 section of the Settlement Agreement attached to the letter-4.2 Alternative Payment of a Greater Amount if the CNMI Economy Improves. Before each fiscal year, the trustee, class counsel, and the CNMI shall review the audited financial statements for the most recent year available and determine the Total Annual Revenue received by the CNMI. If the trustee, class counsel, and the CNMI cannot agree on the amount of the Total Annual Revenue they shall submit their respective views to the District Court for resolution. If 17% of the Total Annual Revenue, as agreed by the trustee, class counsel, and the CNMI or as determined by the District Court is greater than the minimum annual amount paid by the CNMI under paragraphs 4.0-4.2, then the CNMI shall within 60 days, pay the difference to the Settlement Fund.
“In other words, if the 17% Total Annual Revenue for any fiscal year is greater than the MAP for that fiscal year, the difference would be the APGA due. Inversely, if the 17% Total Annual Review is less than the MAP for the same fiscal year, then APGA would not be due for that fiscal year.”
Tang also included a summary table reflecting the amount of the MAP compared to the 17% Total Annual Revenue for the respective years. The FY2018 column shows that the MAP amount is $45 million versus the (17%) Total Annual Revenue (TAR) column amount of $43,173,933.68.
In FY 2019 the MAP amount is $44 million and the (17%) TAR amount is $33,024,288.00, while in FY 2020 the MAP amount is 42 million and the (17%) TAR is $29,169,940.58.
She also added that information regarding the APGA is reported each year in the Report of the Trustee which is available on the Settlement Fund’s website. “At least once a year, we present the Trustees Report to Chief Judge Tydingco-Gatewood at the District Court hearing.”
Saipan Tribune is still waiting for commets from DeLeon Guerrero regarding Tang’s July 16 letter.
Joyce C.H. Tang
