[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 25, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H3680-H3681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO THE MAYORS OF THE NORTHERN MARIANAS

  (Mr. SABLAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, in the Northern Mariana Islands, modern-day 
mayors represent a proud tradition that dates back thousands of years 
to the maga'lahi who led families, clans, and villages of ancient 
Chamorro society. These individuals, and their forebears, represent an 
enduring line of local self-government in our islands. They deserve 
recognition for the important role they have filled, particularly 
during the return to local self-government after World War II, which 
was essential to regaining and preserving our cultural identity. This 
process began soon after American troops freed our islands in the 1944 
Battle for Saipan.
  Chamorro and Carolinian survivors of the war elected a high chief, 
roughly the equivalent of a mayor, in their first exercise of American 
democracy. The mayor in those days served in a role now customarily 
identified with the office of the governor. Today, mayors are charged 
with more traditional responsibilities such as administering government 
programs, public services, and appropriations in their respective 
municipalities.
  Please join me in honoring the past and present mayors of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who have contributed 
greatly to the quality of life in our community.
  Mr. Speaker, in the Northern Mariana Islands, the modern-day mayors 
of our far-flung community represent the democratic embodiment of a 
proud tradition of local leadership that dates back thousands of years 
to the maga 'lahi who led families, clans, and villages in ancient 
Chamorro society. These individuals, and their forebears, represent the 
most enduring line of local government in our islands and merit 
recognition for the important roles they have filled historically, and 
particularly during the return to local self-government during the past 
65 years.
  Over 3,500 years ago, the Mariana Islands were first discovered by 
intrepid sailors from elsewhere in Asia. They organized a society at 
harmony with nature on our islands that thrived for millennia. 
Beginning in the early 1500s, however, with the arrival of Ferdinand 
Magellan, the Marianas lost their independence to successive colonizing 
forces from all corners of the globe. Spanish forces were followed in 
the Northern Marianas by Germans, then by the Japanese, and finally--
under a United Nations trusteeship--by the United States, until the 
people of our islands were given the opportunity for self-determination 
and voted overwhelmingly to adopt a Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 
the United States of America.
  During these four centuries of colonialism, our ancestors were told 
where they could live or not live, their traditional latte stone homes 
were destroyed, they were forced to adopt foreign customs and 
religions, and their populations were decimated by foreign diseases

[[Page H3681]]

and violence at the hands of their colonizers. Although there were 
titular local leaders, the reestablishment of a substantive government, 
under the control of the indigenous people, was essential to regaining 
and preserving cultural identity. This process began approximately five 
months after American troops wrested control of the Northern Marianas 
from the Japanese in the 1944 Battle for Saipan.
  In December of that year, Chamorro and Carolinian survivors of the 
war, interned at Camp Chalan Kanoa, elected a high chief in their first 
exercise of American democracy. The office of high chief was later 
renamed chief commissioner, after the United States naval government 
implemented a municipal charter for Saipan during the post-war years. 
Municipal governments developed in similar fashion on the Northern 
Islands, Tinian and Aguiguan, and Rota. During the early days of an 
emerging democracy in the islands, the chief commissioner served as the 
principal liaison between the local political structure that was being 
established and the U.S. naval administration, and in a role now more 
identified with the office of the governor. The chief commissioner was 
responsible for overseeing the work of the several departments which 
comprised the executive branch: the treasury, economics, public works, 
education, public health, and public safety. This official was also 
responsible for preparing the municipality's annual budget; proposing 
legislation to the legislature, which at that time was made up of 
commissioners and councilmen; and serving as the judge of the municipal 
court.
  With the adoption of the Covenant and the formation of a 
constitutional government, each of the island municipalities has 
continued to elect a local executive. These mayors are charged with 
advising the governor on government operations and matters concerning 
their respective municipalities. They also administer government 
programs, public services, and appropriations provided by law; conduct 
public hearings with respect to government operations and local 
matters; coordinate any provision of federal programs extended to their 
respective municipalities; act as the principal local official for 
mobilizing resources and coordinating response and recovery efforts in 
the face of emergencies; in consultation with the Municipal Council, 
submit items for inclusion in the proposed budgets for both government 
operations and capital improvement projects; and, in the case of 
Rota, and Tinian and Aguiguan, appoint, in consultation with the head 
of the respective executive branch department, all resident department 
heads.

  In recent years, mayors of the Northern Islands, Saipan, Tinian and 
Aguiguan, and Rota have contributed greatly to the quality of life in 
the Northern Mariana Islands. The mayors have participated in the 
Commonwealth-wide street naming project, they have hosted cultural and 
educational symposia, they have spearheaded the development of public 
lands and coordinated infrastructure improvements, and, on a daily 
basis, they coordinate the provision of public services to the 
residents of their islands.
  I ask you to join me today in honoring the past and present mayors of 
the local municipalities that comprise the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands. The mayors of Saipan, from the dark days of the war to 
the present include: Gregorio San Nicolas Sablan, Elias Parong Sablan, 
Ignacio Villagomez Benavente, Vicente Diaz Sablan, Luis Arriola 
Benavente, Francisco Manibusan Diaz, Jose Santos Rios, Gilbert Castro 
Ada, Jose Mettao Taitano, Jesus Sablan Guerrero, Jose Camacho Sablan, 
Juan Borja Tudela, and Donald Glenn Flores.
  The mayors of the Northern Islands: Daniel Pangelinan Castro, Vicente 
Matagolai Aldan, Ambrosio Satur Ruben, Joseph Taman Ogumoro, Valentin 
Igisaiar Taisakan, and Tobias Dela Cruz Aldan; and before, the District 
Administrator Representatives Juan Mettao and the long-serving 
Francisco Borja Kaipat.
  The atkadi, commissioners, and mayors of Rota: Carlos Songsong Calvo, 
Andres Camacho Atalig, Tomas Camacho Mendiola, Melchor Songsong 
Mendiola, Juan Camacho Diaz, Manuel Ada Manglona, Antonio Camacho 
Atalig, Prudencio Taisacan Manglona, Joseph Songao Inos, Benjamin 
Taisacan Manglona, and Melchor Atalig Mendiola.
  The commissioners and mayors of Tinian and Aguiguan: Jose Manglona 
Hocog, Juan Cruz Villagomez, Jose Reyes Cruz, Antonio Simabukuru Borja, 
Henry Gikibai Hofschneider, William Villagomez Hofschneider, Felipe 
Camacho Mendiola, Herman Muna Manglona, Ignacio King Quichocho, James 
Masga Mendiola, Francisco Manglona Borja, Jose Pangelinan San Nicolas, 
and Ramon Muna Dela Cruz.

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