Celina Roberto Babauta is taking steps to rehabilitate the CNMI’s homestead program and jump start economic development through homeownership throughout the islands. Since April 15, 2006, then-Governor Benigno R. Fitial, through the Department of Public Lands, declared a moratorium on land compensation payments and village residential homestead program until further notice. Today, the moratorium is still in effect.
The homestead program used to quitclaim 1,000 square meters of public land to each eligible and qualified applicant. The quitclaim deed is conditional: 1) The new landowner must build a home on the property within three years, and 2) cannot sell the land within 10 years of acquiring the deed. The Saipan senator is unsure how many acres of public lands are left should Arnold Palacios lift the Fitial moratorium.
The Department of Public Lands also administers a public lands lease program, and a land compensation program. She is suspicious that some who have received properties did not play by the rules.
In a March 27 letter to Teresita Santos, the secretary of public lands, Ms. Babauta asked for a list of all public land leases, including the:
- Location
- Lessee
- Primary use of the leased land
- Lease term
- Annual revenue generated by each lease.
“The transparency of public land management is crucial for informed decision-making,” she wrote in the letter. She said the information will be valuable in helping the Commonwealth government to determine land policy and to figure out where to go from here.
“I want to see the variances in public land leases,” the senator told Kandit in an interview. “And I want to see the leases in Tinian and Rota, too. No one thinks to ask these questions unless and until a problem comes up.”
She also provided Kandit the following information:
“At the time, there were over 4,000 applicants for the village homestead program waiting for their number to be called and about 193 claimants on file waiting for their land compensation payouts. The $28 million that was available for land compensation has long been exhausted, and approximately $80-$100 million is the estimated amount for pending settlements. The most critical island for a village homestead program is Saipan which has about 3,500 pending applicants. A preliminary cost for homestead development per hectare is about $161,000, while estimated costs for development of infrastructure (including but not limited to water and sewer systems, roads, and power systems) to accommodate existing applicants is around $74-$118 million dollars. These were the estimated values in 2006.
“The fact that the Department of Public Lands stopped accepting homestead applications in 2006 and the moratorium on land compensation underscores the need for alternative solutions. This situation makes responsible land use and distribution even more critical.
“By analyzing public land lease data, we can gain insights into potential opportunities to optimize land use and potentially public land lease revenue could be an alternative source of funding to support future generations looking to participate in a village residential homestead program so that we are better able to gauge whether it could be a viable option to help continue the homestead program.
“While I haven’t received information about specific allegations of impropriety, ensuring transparency and responsible management of these leases is crucial. Understanding lease revenue can help us make informed decisions about public lands going forward.”
