t~: .\VERSITY OF HAWAII LIBRARY arianas ~riety;;~ Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 · · ~ ews Dr. Chong awaits bribery sentence By Eric F. Say SHARP during the time the agree­ and Aldwin Fajardo ment was in effect from April 15, Variety News Staff 1991 to July 1, 1994 without the DR. JOSE L. Chong, former knowledge of the CNMI govern­ Director of the CNMI Depart­ ment. ment of Public Health and Envi­ In a news conference at the ronmental Services is awaiting governor's office, Schwab said sentencing by the U.S. District SHARP had paid some $96,000 Court of the CNMI after pleading to Chong allegedly in exchange guilty to a bribery charge. of the patient referral agreement Meanwhile, the CNMI's medi­ with the Commonwealth Health cal referral program has gotten Center. $250,000 from the civil settle­ SHARP was contracted in 1991 ment between the US Department by the CNMI to provide health of Justice and a California-based Jose L. Chong care for patients referred by the health care provider related to CHC. These referrals, Schwab Chong' s case. nearly three years into a division said, resulted in payments from Gov.PedroP. Tenorio received of the San Diego Hospital Asso­ local and federal sources. · the $250,000 check from Assis­ ciation (SHARP), a California He added that after an exten­ tant United States Attorney Mikel non-profit corporation which con­ sive investigation, which involved W. Schwab who also handled the tracted with the CNMI Govern­ analyzing of voluminous docu­ civil settlement with the San Di­ ment in 1991 to provide health ments and interviewing of_ wit­ ego Hospital Association care for patients referred by the nesses to determine the begin­ [SHARP]. Commonwealth Health Center. ning of the payments, a separate Lou Rivera and Grace Agustin, official Guam Visitors Bureau Chamorrita The case is the result of an in­ A report from the US Depart­ consulting agreement between greeters, buzz Yomiuri Giants pitcher Cho Sung-Min yesterday at the Guam International Airport. Sung-Min, 25, arrived with other team­ vestigation conducted by the U.S. ment of Justic~ noted that Chong SHARP and Chong was found. mates for spring training on Guam. The Yomiuri Giants is a professional Department of Justice lasting had been receiving payments from Continued on page 23 .. .. - .. .. .. ..... - .......... , ... ----------·----·--·1 baseball team from Japan. Photo by Eduardo c. Siguenza NMI tourism can't survive ! Guam DPHSS sees $20M shortfall with US, FAS workers only i By Jojo Santo Tomas and Welfare. terns to us in the late 70s and By Haidee V. Eugenio ! I Variety News Staff The shortfall represents the larg­ early 80s have offered no hope Variety News Staff l HAGATNA _; In heari11gs est chunk of the entire projected or promise that the systems are RECRUITMENT of workers from only two sources - the U.S. , designed to familiarize Com­ GovGuam shortfall for fiscal year Y2K compliant," Santos said. mainland and Micronesia - would spell socio-economic disaster 1 mittee Chair Sen. Simon 1999, estimated to be anywhere He added the systems crash not only to the half-a-billion dollar tourism industry, but to the whole ! Sanchez with the agencies un­ from $35-56 million. between 3-4 times a month, CNMI government as well, warned the Hotel Association of the ; der his oversight, the Depart­ Calvo said the largest users of with the computers being down Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI). ment of Public Health and So­ the programs are single mothers, anywhere from a half day to HANMI's statement came in light of the pending imposition of cial Services reported it will who take up 80 percent of the three weeks. U.S. labor and immigration laws on the CNMI. be short by $20 million by the Department's clientele. A plan is already in place to , While recruiting from the U.S. mainland is cost-prohibitive, most end of the fiscal year. One of the other major prob­ prevent the system from going workers coming from Micronesia come with no job skills, said Diane Calvo, chief of the lems the department faces is com­ belly-up, as Santos is working HANMI. Division of Public Welfare, plying with the Y2K bug, which on two deadlines - the year It added that mandatory education in the FSM carries its citizens announced the shortfall comes the systems administrator Ronald 2000 itself and a fede.ral man­ only through the sixth grade level. mainly from her division, Santos said will surely affect the date that has a preliminary The association stressed that hotel businesses on Saipan that do which includes the Medically department's computers. deadline of mid-February. employ Micronesian workers have valued their contributions to their ' Indigent Program, Medicare "The people who sold the sys- Continued on page-23: Continuedon page 23 -· DOF finds soine em_ployees still GIAA speeds up Y2K work Variety News Staff caus~ virtually all of the airport's abusing telephone, fuel benefits HAGA TNA - The Guam In- systems are computerized. By Zaldy Dandan funds. temational Airport Authority "The Y2K issue does affect Variety News Staff She cited instances ofunallow­ (GIA.A) is speeding up testing the. airport in a·big way because THE GOVERNMENT has been able costs being charged to the ..; ..~'hpgrading of its systems to we have air terminal systems paying for some of its employees' government because the depart­ comple~e:Y~K~ompliancework that_· a~e computer-operated., personal long distance telephone ments did not review the monthly by June.· · . computer-dependent, and date- calls and even groceries purchased billings for accuracy. Ivan Quinata, GIAA chief dependent," Quinata said. · with fuel cards, according to Fi­ Her memo, however, provided engineer, said the• "iiuthority is If not _properly addressed, tne nance Secretary Lucy DLG. no figures. making af\ inventory of all sys~ . Y2K: i$St1e may crea~e signifi- Nielsen, who has issued a memo­ Still, the DepartmentofFinance . terns· inc_luding all ~omputer cant problems. resulting jn the randum restricting the (DOF), Nielsen said, will now hardware ~d .software(' .. ·•·· ... ·.•.. .. jriterruptionofairporto~rations government's phone and fuel require all departments and gov­ :··we are working wi.W a Iotof · : :an.d possibt.epotentiaI operating ourvendors,suppliers,rujdcon.:·· .' lbsses; ·. .•... ' ..· charges. ernment agencies to review and .sul_tiin~. ~#.ke •·· .~ure sy,s.~ - •.•. ·. ;: ,; 9J11e .P~tential consequences Nielsen, in a three-page memo, certify their monthly phone and i(:! •· :<?~t S0 urged for an end to such "costly fuel billings before DOF issues . terns are c:001plfant/';, : . <:.: /:: ·::;: llre JnvalidAransaction~. failure­ lax practices" and for more ac­ payments. Qu1naiasai~GiAA:i&t()()king : ··.of coriunun!catiori• systems, as. af.the Y2K Hfaue~s~ry~tisty.'be- :. .,: . ·ce>ntTnued.on.·page ~3 countability in spending public Lucy DLG. Nielsen Continued on page 23 2-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-TUESDAY-JANUARY 26, 1999 TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1999 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-3 Due to bad economy Y2K won't cause OJA allows CIP flexibility By Jojo Dass Stephen Lemieux said the move the years passed, the Legislature ground soon as the Legislature proper priorities into perspective. airplane crashes Variety News Staff is expected to hasten implemen­ used to appropriate all of one works on it. "I think they are satisfied that THE OFFICE of the Insular Af­ BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - "Airplanes will be safe and we rives to fly on New Year's Day to tation of vital CIPs which will year's funding at a single move. "I think that as soon as the Leg­ the priority list is fine. They have fairs (OIA) · has allowed the The millennium bug won 'tknock won't be having collisions," he prove their faith in their compa­ then infuse badly-needed funds "They (Legislature) have asked islature start appropriating these already told us in the beginning Tenorio administration to appro­ airliners out of the sky, interna­ said. nies' systems. into the ailing economy. OIA if they can do it on a project funds just as soon as· we can start that they don't want to select the priate money for capital improve­ tional air safety officials said Mon­ He said on New Year's Day Airservices Australia Y2K At the same time, Lemieux said by project basis because there is these projects. That is good," said projects for the CNMI. They want ment projects (CIP) individually, day, despite conceding "un­ 2000 more space would be al­ project manager Keith Orkney Washington D.C. appears to be not so much money here any­ Lemieux. us to select the project, so they are knowns .. in the aviation industry's lowed between each takeoff and said in Australia, more than 200 citing unavailability of funds due "satisfied" with the CIP list re­ more. They (OIA officials) said Meantime, Lemieux said that not going to criticize us. I don't to the economic crisis. readiness for the Y2K bug. landing and between planes in the aviation systems or components cently submitted by the CNMI 'yes,"' said Lemieux. with the US Anny Corps of Engi­ believe they will," said Lemieux. The International Civil Avia­ air, but no extra emergency crews had been identified as able to cause In an interview yesterday, Pub­ government. Lemieux said that with the go­ neers and private consultancy Topping the CIP list are the tion Organization (ICAO) is host­ would be posted at airports. disruptions through millennium lic Works Secretary Juan "We have only gotten permis­ signal on the individual appro­ groups having been involved in the Marpi solid waste landfill, the ing a meeting of 14 countries, Richardson said the contin­ bug non-compliance. Cepeda's Special Assistant and sion from Washington (D.C.) to priation of CIP funding given, the CIP selection process, OIA is satis­ CNMI corrections facility and four international aviation orga­ gency plans decided upon at He said more than 160 were Solid Waste Task Force member do on a project by project basis.