Audi!: Hotels owe gov't By Mar-Vic C. Munar The MPLC, the public auditor's agreements; terest of $12,691; Variety News Staff office added, failed to "verify ac­ • One lessees had only partially • Micro Pacific Development THEOFFICEofthePublicAudi­ curacy of rental computations pro­ paid; and Inc, which runs Grand Hotel in tor found that several big hotels , vided by the lessees." •Four lessees did not fulfill a Susupe, $17,457; resort and golf courses on Saipan The report submitted by Public previous underpayment dues and •Saipan Portupia Hotel Corp, had reneged on their lease agree­ Auditor Leo LaMotte to Secre­ another lessee was not credited which runs Hyatt Regency in ments with the Division of Public tary Benigno Sablan of the De­ for the overpayment cited in a Garapan, $15,678; and Lands, costing the government a partment of Public Lands and previous audit report. •Suwaso's Coral Ocean Point, total of$888,793 in rental under­ Natural Resources, MPLC' s The auditor's office identified $3,372. payments. mother agency, found that: the following establishments that The Kan Pacific Saipan Ltd., Two phases of audit were per­ •Two establishments did not underpaid MPLC between 1990 which operates the Mariana Re­ formed by the auditor's office. pay the required rentals to MPLC; and 1994: sort Hotel in Marpi, has not paid a Results showed that the delin­ •Five lessees paid their rentals •Pacific Micronesia Corp. total of$666,841 in rental obliga- quent establishments underpaid but did not compute their rentals which runs the Daichi Hotel in tions. the government by $772,363 for in accordance with their lease Garapan, $143,973 including in- Continued on page 8 lease period covering 19.90 and Leo LaMotte 1994;and$11 I,430between 1988 Post-~_lection analysis _ · .·. · and 1989. orMPLC. It was found out that underpay­ The public auditor's office ment had resulted from improp­ faulted MPLC the public lands erly computed gross receipts sub­ agency MPLC for its failure to Why the people voted 'No' mitted by the lessees to the public develop and implement monitor­ lands agency, formerly known as ing and collection procedures re­ By Rick Alberto Benavente said that for the del­ should have also mentioned the the Marianas Public Lands Corp. lated to lease payments. Variety News Staff egates, "nothing is bad. For them cons, and not only the pros. TO WHAT factors can the over­ everything is vote yes. They just "This (election) is non-parti­ whelming no-vote win in last tell you this is good, vote yes, but san. This is not politics. So, they Tenorio pushes bid to Saturday's plebiscite be attrib­ they don't tell you both the ad­ should at least be honest with uted? vantages and the disadvantages." themselves in representing the The Variety asked five voters Benavente voted yes on the public. This is for the betterment restrict US citizenship including a no proponent from amendments concerning the judi­ of the community," he said. ernment, at least I don't see any the education field. One common ciary and the Washington repre­ Diego S.N. Dela Cruz, court indication from them that it is. reason they gave for the no vote sentative. security, voted no on all the But to me this is a major con­ was many voters did not fully But he admits he was influ­ amendments, citing specifically cern for the local government," comprehend the ramifications of enced up to a certain extent by the number 13 because he said he had said the governor Thursday. the 19 amendments. no campaigners, particularly those read that this would put the NMC Under Tenorio's proposal, Further questionings also led to opposed to Amendment 13, on under the hands of politicians. US citizenship would cease to conclusions that the yes propo­ education. Dela Cruz says he had read more be automatically conferred on nents failed to come across. On "They (educators from the "no" ideas than the "yes." CNMl-bom children unless the other hand, the no proponents Northern Marianas College, who He said the people had not been they have at least one US citi­ campaigned harder and cited the were among the ardent campaign­ sufficiently educated. Told that zen parent. whys and wherefores more ers for no) are in a better position there had been public hearings The current provision under straightforwardly. to understand the consequences if conducted; he said he wasn't Covenant section 30 I accords "There was not enough educa­ you vote yes," Benavente said. aware of them. "I've never seen US citizenship to anyone born tion," said Ignacio Benavente, Benavente thinks the ConCon in the newspaper that they were in the CNMI, regardless of the chief deputy clerk of the District delegates who campaigned for the having public hearings." citizenship of the parents. Court. ratification of all the amendments Over at the NMC, faculty and Froilan C. Tenorio Section 902 provides a fo­ staff are jubilant for the college's rum where the US and the concerted campaign against By Rafael H. Arroyo CNMI could discuss matters Attao: Delay could have Amendment 13 was a triumph. Variety News Staff affecting their relationship. NMC President Agnes M. GOVERNOR Froilan C. The 902 representative has altered ConCon outcome McPhetres said the college's pub­ Tenorio is hoping to get a had initial discussions with lic education campaign paid off. prompt response from the fed­ Cohen on the citizenship issue lot different. "We have done several public eral government regarding his a while back but the latter rec­ This from House Vice education on TV, with myself plan to restrict US citizenship ommended that an official po­ Speaker Jesus T. Attao who said going out publicly. Also our board from certain persons born in sition paper be submitted by the proposed amendments to the Continued on a e 8 the CNMI. the CNMI side before the US Constitution should not have In an interview, Tenorio said side takes an official stand. suffered such an overwhelming he is sending his special 902 The proposal to restrict US defeat had his proposal to move representative Brenda Y. citizenship is being explored the election date materialized. Weather Tenorio to Washington, D.C. on the premise that the unique House Bill 10-162 which this week to discuss the citi­ political status of the CNMI . Attao authored would have OuUook zenship issue with her 902 under the Covenant may allow moved the vote on the proposed amendments from March 2 to counterpart, Ed Cohen. such a policy. Also to be discussed in the Another factor that has led to June 29 of this year. meeting is the issue of sub­ the proposal is the observation The measure passed both .merged lands ownership, ac­ that automatic US citizenship houses of Legislature but Gov . cording to the governor. is creating a class of citizens Froilan C. Tenorio opted to sit "I hope this issue is resolved outofa steadily increasing non­ By Rafael H. Arroyo on it and let the Saturday ratifi­ in this meeting," said Tenorio. resident population. Variety News Staff cation vote push through. "I maintain my position that Currently, the CNMI con­ HAD THERE been a postpone­ "Ifonly House Bill 10-62 was citizenship should be restricted. trols its own immigration un­ ment of last Saturday's elec­ signed into law, the public would have gotten more infonned on I.guess from what I gather, it is der the Covenant allowing for tion, the outcome of the ratifi­ Mostly sunny cation vote should have been a Continued on page 8 I not a major concern of US gov- Continued on page 8 r' 2-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-MARCH 5, 1996 TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1996 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-3 Malaysia niay ban Shiites Labor drops case vs Joeten By Mar-Vic C. Munar The labor division issued on Feb. Issues raised by the workers in­ He said Joeten violated the Variety News Staff KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia similar to the one used against the Al a messiah and was accused of devia­ Lebanon and Pakistan ... there have ings of the foW1deroflslam' s Prophet 26 a "notice of no violation of the cluded late notice of nonrenewal, NonResident Workers Act when it THE DIVISION of Labor has dis­ (AP)-Thegovemmentwill take stem Arqam Islamic movement in 1994 tionist teachings. been cases of extremism involving Mohammed and what he has said to NonResident Workers' Act" in re­ yearly increase in barracks fee, util­ made such deductions from the missed the case filed by four alien measures to curb the spread ofShiite may be needed to deal with Shiites, ''Shiitefollowersaretaughtbytheir Shiites in all these coW1tiies, includ­ his followers, while Shiites follows sponse to the complaint filed by ity deductions, and deductions for workers' salaries. Life insurance workers against their employer, teachings in Malaysia and may ban the New Straits Times reported Mon­ leaders to become fanatics ... they are ingkilling offellow Muslims," Hamid these as well as some of the teachings Mario Santillam, Dominador life insurance. payrnent,hesaid, werenotincluded day. J.C. Tenorio Enterprises, but at the the Islamic sect, a senior official said told any follower persecuted for his said. of Mohammed's followers, such as Conseja, Rolando Cordero and Camacho said the late notice of in the individual employment con­ The government fears the intro­ The 200,000 member Al Arqam same time, blew the whistle on the Ignacio Ayapana. beliefswillbeconsideredasamartyr. Hamid said the Shiites were going Saidim Ali. nonrenewal "does not raise a meri­ tracts approved by the labor de­ duction of Shiite teachings would sect was banned in 1994, its com­ company for making iJlegal de­ 'This is dangerous.