Next land compensation to total some $6M

The Marianas Public Lands Authority’s next drawdown request for land compensation will total around $6 million, MPLA commissioner Edward Deleon Guerrero disclosed yesterday.

Deleon Guerrero said MPLA is set to process the requisition, which will include payments for a number of land compensation claimants, starting next week. He expressed confidence that the processing of the next drawdown request will move without the obstacles experienced during the last requisition.

“I’m optimistic that the next drawdown will move smoothly, now that question has been put to rest in regards to my signature. We really want to get [all these payments] out. This is the governor’s program, and we’re trying our very best to expedite the process because we recognize that the claimants have been waiting for their payment for a very long time,” Deleon Guerrero said in an interview.

Yesterday, Gov. Juan N. Babauta presented land compensation checks to three of the nine claimants included in MPLA’s last requisition, amounting to $358,045.49.

Siblings Trinidad Pinaula Magofna, Nicolas C. Pinaula, and Victorina Pinaula received their checks, each amounting $24,297.74, from the governor at the MPLA office in Chalan Piao. Their brother Jesus C. Pinaula, who did not make it to the check presentation, is receiving the same amount.

“I apologize for the lateness that these checks are issued. As you know, we had some administrative issues that we had to overcome. But with the resolution of this issue, we hope to be able to issue more payments by next week,” Babauta said.

Magofna said the land compensation was for a Talafofo property taken by the government from their father a long time ago. She said she will split her share of the compensation among her six children.

Other claimants whose checks are ready for pickup at the MPLA office are Jose A. Ichihara, $1,987.84; Rosa I. Ichihara, $482.76; Lucy Ann T. Sablan, $15,687.89; Francisco Q. Guerrero, $179.298.13; and the CNMI Superior Court, $15,697.89.

Also included in the requisition was a $47,710 reimbursement for MPLA’s land compensation-related expenses.

Land compensation payments have been delayed due to questions over the legality of MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro’s unilateral move to appoint Deleon Guerrero as commissioner. The bond trustee had been hesitant to honor requisition documents bearing his signature.

On Dec. 27, Babauta told MPLA to resolve the issue once and for all and to get the payments out to the claimants by Tuesday.

As agreed during the teleconference initiated by the governor, the MPLA board appointed MPLA deputy commissioner Frank Eliptico on Tuesday assume the position of acting commissioner and sign the requisition document.

Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig immediately concurred with the request and sent it to CDA executive director Marylou Ada, who was supposed to forward the requisition to Bank of Guam, the bond trustee.

However, Ada informed Eliptico on Tuesday afternoon that CDA would not forward the document to Bank of Guam until after the MPLA board of directors affirms Deleon Guerrero’s employment as commissioner.

CDA processed the requisition after the board’s Wednesday special meeting, where they unanimously voted to confirm Demapan-Castro’s authority to hire and terminate MPLA employees.