By a vote of 19-0, the House of Representatives paved the way for the Department of Public Lands to grant homestead permits for residents wanting to relocate to Pagan and other Northern Islands, 33 years since Mount Pagan first erupted in 1981.<\/p>\n
But DPL Secretary Pete A. Tenorio said the department \u201cunequivocally opposes the passage of House Bill 18-109.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among other things, Tenorio said, the bill proposes to \u201cusurp\u201d DPL\u2019s functions \u201cby forcing DPL to disregard Article 11 of the NMI Constitution, Public Law 15-2 or the Public Lands Act, Public Law 1-42 or the Village Homesteading Act of 1979, the Village Homestead Rules and Regulations, and other related statutes, regulations and procedures relating to homestead and homestead waiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Legislature cannot usurp the functions of DPL unless it repeals or amends Public Law 15-2,\u201d Tenorio said in his written comments on the bill.<\/p>\n
HB 18-109, authored by Rep. Trenton Conner (Ind-Tinian), still has to go to the Senate.<\/p>\n
House members debated at length the Natural Resources Committee\u2019s report recommending passage of HB 18-109. The debate continued during discussion of the bill itself.<\/p>\n
Conner\u2019s bill didn\u2019t pass the House until exactly 5pm yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate members\u2019 support to this bill. I hope it\u2019s something that will come to fruition,\u201d he told Saipan Tribune after the session.<\/p>\n
Conner said even before Mount Pagan\u2019s eruption, there were already Northern Island residents applying for homestead permits. He said those dated back some four decades ago.<\/p>\n
If signed into law, the legislation would \u201ccompel the Department of Public Lands to enforce the spirit and intent behind Article 11 by ensuring that any and all bureaucratic or administrative issues, including DPL\u2019s own rules and regulations, that presently delay the granting of homestead applications are eliminated by law as they relate to the Northern Islands homesteads.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rep. Teresita Santos (R-Rota) voted \u201cyes\u201d with reservation, owing to her concerns that those granted homestead permits on Rota still could not afford to build their homes because of high costs of construction materials and others are faced with possible revocation of their homestead permits. She said some with deeds to their property are also waiting for clearance from federal agencies.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy treat our brothers and sisters differently? Why do we bend rules for some, but not for the others?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Besides Santos, also voting \u201cyes with reservation\u201d was Rep. Tony Sablan (Ind-Saipan).<\/p>\n
The House vote came weeks after Gov. Eloy S. Inos said he opposes the U.S. military\u2019s planned use of heavy artillery on Tinian and Pagan. The governor\u2019s statement reinforces not only the House\u2019s position and that of other sectors opposed to the militarization of Pagan especially.<\/p>\n
The House Natural Resources Committee, in recommending passage of the bill, said the legislation intends to grant all present pending applications for homesteads in the Northern Islands to allow grantees to begin construction on their homes, provided that these grantees have the means to fulfill their duties and obligations under the law to improve upon the land.<\/p>\n
But DPL\u2019s Tenorio said the bill \u201cproposes to disregard the functions of DPL as spelled out in Public Law 15-2 and now wants to carve its own rules as to how the homestead program for the Northern Islands should be administered and implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bill proposes to waive virtually, if not literally, all homestead requirements from Northern Islands current and former residents who are eligible to apply for in the Northern Islands,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tenorio asked whether the bill intends to disregard the requirements of the Division of Environmental Quality, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Historic Preservation Office, and Coastal Resources Management, as well as federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf eligible and qualified Northern Islands residents are issued permits for residential homestead lots in the Northern Islands, how are they going to construct their homes? Where are they going to get their construction materials? If they could afford to buy construction materials from Saipan, how are they going to transport the materials to the Northern Islands? What about the other residents that cannot afford to buy construction materials? How are they to \u2018fulfill their duties and obligations under the law to improve upon the land\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Northern Islands Mayor Tobias DLC. Aldan, meanwhile, supports and commends the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bill will definitely help DPL in performance of its responsibility to carry out the Northern Islands, particularly in Pagan. This will allow the residents to construct safe, decent and sanitary dwelling for their families as well as engage in sustainable farming on prime agricultural lands they occupied for eons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Aldan asks that the bill be passed \u201cas it would immediately expedite the distribution of homestead lots to the Northern Islands residents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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