Legislative leaders to meet with ex-justice on economic summit

Senate President Pete P. Reyes and House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios are planning to hold a meeting with retired justice Jose S. Dela Cruz, who had called for a CNMI economic summit.

Reyes and Palacios, who expressed support for the idea, will meet with Dela Cruz to find a way to set up a working group that will formulate some research and finalize a methodology in order to push through with the conference.

“But we need to lay a foundation so that there would be cooperation. They would be working in harmony with all the leaders in the Commonwealth because we need to put our heads together to try and make this summit work,” said Reyes in an interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.

In a recent letter to the editor, Dela Cruz said government and business leaders should rise to the occasion and take charge of the economic predicament that the CNMI is now in by calling for a major economic conference.

“The purpose of such working economic conference is to address and try to correct the CNMI economic downturn that we have been in for several years now,” Dela Cruz said.

Reyes agreed with Dela Cruz on the need to immediately conduct the summit “because things are not working out the way it should.”

“There is a need for leaders to get together, and this summit will bring them together, with one focus: start addressing the economic situation,” he said.

The Senate president said he doesn’t believe that there has been a similar type of summit held here other than the conference called by the Department of the Interior to promote the island nations.

“Who knows, maybe somebody out there has an idea that will work to resolve the crisis situation that we are facing. We just need to hear that and put them into motion,” he said.

Reyes said he is sure that all the leaders, including Gov. Benigno Fitial, will support the idea.

“We don’t want to wait until it is too late. We can still do something about it. Let’s do it now!” the senator said.

In 2005, a group of local organizations and businesses sponsored the Marianas Roundtable Economic Summit in response to the economic setback being experienced in the CNMI.

The recommendations made by that summit included making the CNMI Asia’s portal to the U.S. market, creating a centralized economic development committee, and enhancing the flagship industries of tourism and garment.