202 the Contemporary Pacific • Spring 1997 Guam

202 the contemporary pacific • spring 1997 Central Committee declared in favor holdings in United Micronesia Devel- of Borja, but Tenorio is fast adopting opment Association (including Conti- a high-profile campaign stance. On nental Micronesia Airlines), various the other side, Republicans and overseas branches of the international former governors Pedro P Tenorio courier company dhl, a bank, hotel and Lorenzo I Guerrero declared interests, a resort in Vietnam, as well their candidacies. Washington Repre- as property in the Philippines, France, sentative Juan Babauta initially and elsewhere. Because there was no announced his candidacy, but with- current will, a probate court has taken drew a couple of months later. The on the responsibility of determining campaign season is already launched the division of the estate. Claimants and the campaign promises to be inter- include several children who claim esting and ardent. Hillblom paternity; two young women The good news was that a new who claim common law spouse status; resort opened on Rota, and the new two members of the Saudi royal family port on Saipan is already partly opera- who claim the deceased promised them tional. Tourism is up to more than a part of his fortune; the University of 600,000 visitors a year. Japanese still California hospital, which claims Hill- account for the largest number of visi- blom promised money for a medical tors, but Korean numbers are growing research center after treatment follow- fast, and there is a concerted effort to ing an earlier plane crash; and numer- attract tourists from mainland China. ous business associates seeking various Road construction continues, and the types of compensation. economy seems to be recovering from samuel f mcphetres the depression that followed the amendments to the previous tax law that was driving businesses out of the area. Guam Disputes involving the estate of The accomplishments and activities dhl founder and business tycoon of Guam’s governor, its member Larry Hillblom attracted much atten- of congress, the controversial land tion in 1995–96. Hillblom disap- trust issue, and the territory’s quest peared in March 1995 while flying for commonwealth status, were his fifty-year old amphibian airplane the major events on Guam during over the northern islands of the Mari- 1995–96. anas. The bodies of two of the plane’s In January, Governor Carl Gutierrez passengers, the pilot, and Legislative awarded his administration an A-plus Vice Speaker Jesus Mafnas, were for its first year’s performance evalua- found in the ocean several days later. tion. He identified his two goals for Hillblom’s body was never found, but 1996 as completing the strategic plan a local court declared him officially for implementing his Vision 2001 con- dead. cept announced in November, and Hillblom’s estate, valued at between growing the economy. Vision 2001 $450 million and $1 billion, includes requires specific action plans to political reviews • micronesia 203 improve the island’s health care, edu- bills. He also agreed to work with the cation, infrastructure, public safety, Nation in helping indigenous people, housing, and work force, and also and suggested the protesters “Go sleep places emphasis on community and at the Legislature until they pass the cultural values. This comprehensive bill” (Pacific Daily News, 11 July five-year plan, the territory’s first, will 1995, 3). Prior to the visit, the gover- be the chief means for improving nor had submitted a bill to the legisla- Guam’s quality of life as the island ture outlining rules and regulations for enters the twenty-first century. Efforts the land trust. to achieve economic growth include Angel Santos, now a senator, privatizing some of Guam’s govern- authored some of the implementing ment services, and expanding tourism. legislation and called for a public hear- Gutierrez made progress in reducing ing on it at the encampment site. Some government expenditures, improving weeks after the hearing, the encamp- executive-branch efficiency, and get- ment site was declared a health hazard ting movement on a planning vision. by Guam public health officials, and However, he and the Guam Legislature the supervisor of the governor’s com- butted heads with the Chamoru plex ordered the Chamoru Nation to Nation, one of three indigenous break camp and leave the parade nationalist groups, concerning the grounds. The protesters responded by rules for returning land to residents of serving eviction notices to non- Chamorro (also Chamoru) ancestry. Chamorros occupying government The Chamorro Land Trust Act was land. The governor then agreed to passed in 1975, but lay unimplemented delay eviction of the protesters and for nearly twenty years until political asked the vice speaker of the legisla- activist and cofounder of the Chamoru ture to speed up consideration of the Nation Angel Santos decided to acti- land trust enabling legislation. How- vate it via a court suit. In order to ever, on 1 September the protesters implement the Act, the legislature and received a court summons, which they governor wrote three bills that had decided to ignore. Ten days later, the opposing views of the land trust con- legislature began three days of debate cept. To focus attention on the plight and discussion on the final language of landless Chamorros, on 7 June the of the three land trust bills. The pro- Chamoru Nation set up a protest testers assembled at the legislature hall encampment on the parade grounds of and after listening to some of the the governor’s office and stated that debate began pounding on doors and the group would protest until the land windows, blowing conch-shell horns, trust act was implemented (via amend- and chanting “Chamorro power,” dis- ments providing rules and regulations). turbing the debate. On two occasions, Early in the protest, dressed in loin- Senator Santos left the session hall to cloths with shell adornments, the request that the protesters stop inter- leaders paid a surprise visit to Gover- rupting debate, and one senator nor Gutierrez, who agreed to write to claimed protesters threatened to take the legislature about the pending land his life if he did not vote in favor of the 204 the contemporary pacific • spring 1997 land legislation (Pacific Daily News, nous movement (the Organization of 13 Sept 1995, 5). During the third day People for Indigenous Rights, opir, of debate, the senators passed the bill being the oldest of the three). The new establishing the amended rules and small group, while desiring to retain regulations for land applications, and US citizenship, declared its indepen- a bill transferring 4336 lots from the dence, wrote a constitution, and abolished Land for the Landless pro- created a decision-making organiza- gram to the Chamorro Land Trust pro- tion. In an open letter of 14 August, gram, enlarging the amount of land in Mike deCastro, the group’s minister of the trust. The bill introduced by the finance, called for the abolition of the governor, changing some of the land Commission on Self-Determination trust arrangements, was defeated. and the Guam Finance Commission, With a unanimous supporting vote by and for Governor Gutierrez to resign the senators on the two land trust bills, and let the republic and its president, anger was transformed to elation. Norbert Perez, take over political Later the same day, the legislation control of Guam. This call was not moved to the governor’s office, where heeded, and the movement has gener- he signed the rules and regulations bill ated little support. into law, but stated he needed a day to Governor Gutierrez began a num- review the land transfer bill because of ber of initiatives to maximize the eco- the many land lot numbers involved. nomic benefits of base closures on This delay, although short, caused the Guam, encouraged placement of essen- protesters’ mood to turn sour again. tial government information online, They pushed their way into the gover- and established the Guam Crime Com- nor’s office, where some angry words mission for the purpose of waging war were exchanged. The confrontation on crystal methamphetamine, also overflowed into the parking lot, where known as “ice.” During the year, he security staff and police officers had went public in strong opposition to to physically restain the protesting nuclear testing by the French at crowd. The next day, with tempers Moruroa. Gutierrez urged President cool, Governor Gutierrez signed the Clinton to extent Guam most-favored- land transfer bill into law, and soon community status, which would delay after the Chamoru Nation began the shutdown of naval base activity breaking camp and clearing the parade until 1999. The governor’s suggestion grounds. Although democratic prac- that contributions to the Clinton-Gore tices came under some stress, the reelection campaign would assure such 71-day protest ended in success. The treatment generated some criticism Chamorro Land Trust Commission locally. The governor has also been could begin accepting applications for taken to task over his suit against the land lots at $1 per year for 99 years, elected Board of Education, in which and landless Chamorros would be he claims the 1950 Organic Act pro- given preference. vides his office sole authority for the The Republic of Guahan emerged supervision and control of education, during 1995 as Guam’s third indige- and thus supersedes a 1993 law estab- political reviews • micronesia 205 lishing the elected board, a law that he annual 10 percent shipping-fee and his lieutenant governor, Madeleine increase, and for the territory’s push Bordallo, had cosponsored when mem- for reimbursement from the federal bers of the Guam Legislature. This sit- government for the costs of supporting uation has led to some confusion in the migrants to Guam from the freely huge Department of Education.

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