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Misunderstandings about repeal of Article 12
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Posted on Oct 06 2008
It seems to me that one of the misunderstandings about repealing Article 12 is that land would be gone—sold. This is not the case. It is up to the individual not to sell at all. Repealing Article 12 will not force anyone to do anything he or she does not want to do.
What Article 12 is doing is preventing an individual from exercising his/her right to dispose of their personal belongings—land in this case—in the manner in which they choose to. It is therefore discriminatory. Repeal of Article 12 will not force anyone to sell if they don’t want to. What it does, however, is remove the discrimination aspect of the law.
What if an individual for some reason or another is moving to settle for good someplace else and wants to dispose of all his or her belongings, including land? Who are we to tell this person what to do with his or her belongings? Who are we to deprive this individual or family of maximizing the value of their assets? Let us keep in mind that fee simple can get a higher return than a long-term lease.
Article 12 was set up to protect person of Northern Marianas descent with land. It’s been more than 25 years now. Don’t you think we have matured enough to know what we want? A child born 25 years ago is expected by now to be able to stand on his own two feet and even to have a family.
Repealing Article 12 will not only simplify things, it will remove the discriminatory nature of the law. There are so many issues tied up by Article 12 that unless something is done now, we will be faced in the very near future with problems that will tear up families. We are a community of many races. There are individuals that are only half Chamorro/Carolinians now. It will take 25 years before some of the offspring will not be able to be a part of us due to Article 12.
[B]Efrain Camacho[/B] [I]Navy Hill, Saipan[/I]
