SIT,1 or- L.1 ... , '" ,\ 11 u RR,\RY UNIVER • '-,, ....

arianas %riet~~ .,, . b~;~~

Micronesia's Leading Newspaper Since 1972 · · J::..'."'' !'J ~ 1

Continental set to cut flights, use snialler jets

K-9 dog alerts agents to dope on passenger

By Jacob Leon Guerrero Variety News Staff

HAGATNA-Twopersons may face charges in court for alleged attempts to bring in illegal substance believed to be marijuana into Guam.

Variety News Staff HAGATNA -- Due to the con-tinuing decrease in Japanese traf-fic, Continental Micronesia will be reducing flight frequencies and using smaller aircraft, Continen-tal Micronesia President Bill Meehan announced yesterday during the Fourth Quarterly Mem-bership Meeting of the Guam Visi-tors Bureau.

Meehan stressed that Continen-tal Micronesia is not exiting any market in Japan because the air-line believes in maintaining a strong presence in Japanese mar-kets.

"We're just pulling down fre-quencies. We're not ripping ca-pacity, we're justtakingtheempty seats out."

Continental Micronesia's 1999 scheduled seats will decline by about 23 percent mostly in the Japanese market.

The most significant frequency pull-down will be in N arita which will be pulled down to 12 flights per week.

In addition, Meehan said Con-tinental Micron~a will be grounding its three 747s in 1999, replacing them with DCI0-30s. "The DCI0-30s are more com-

Clinton nominates Judge Munson to another term

Alex R. Munson

WASHINGTON D.C.-Presi-dent Clinton on Tuesday reap-pointed Alex R. Munson US District Court Judge for the CNMI for another term of 10 years, according to a press re-lease from the White House obtained by the Variety via the Internet.

Munson has been se1ving as the CNMI's US District Court chief judge since 1988. His term is expiring November of this year, sources said.

His new appointment requires confirmation by the U.S. Sen-ate.

Under U.S. law federal judges generally serve for life. The law that created the U.S. District Court for the Marianas, how-ever, provided a ten-year term for its federal judges.

The Variety contacted Munson's office yesterday for comment but was told the judge is in Washington, D.C.

Judge Munson earned his un-dergraduate degree in 1964 and an M.A. in 1965 from· Long Beach State College, an Ed.D.

Conffnuea on page 23

mensurate to the demand in the market," Meehan explained.

Moreover, Meehan said 747s cost $50,000 more per flight than the DC I 0-30s and that was one of the factors why the airline de-cided to phase out its 747s.

During consultations, Meehan said tour agents were not too dis-turbed by the decrease in Conti-nental Micronesia's frequencies.

What the agents are concerned about is how Continental Micronesia will adjust once the tourism numbers come back.

Continental Micronesia's an-swer is its fleet modernization

program wherein the airline will upgrade·to a new 757 flet:t.

According to Meehan, the 757 aircraft is not only newer but also more efficient and costs lower to operate. By the year 2000, Meehari said the average age of Continen-tal Micronesia's aircraft would be only five months.

Furthermore, Meehan said Con-tinental Micronesia would be in-troducing the 737 new generation aircraft.

"We're looking at 3 models-the 700, 800, and 900 models. Originally we scheduled to bring

Continued on page 23

According to Customs and Quarantine spokeswoman Alicia Perez, 41-year-old Chang Sung Paik was return- • ing to Guam from Palau last ra Sunday, when a Customs K- ·A

ff 9 dog alerted authorities to ~i :1 marijuana cigarettes on U ~ Paik'~ person . ~ ~~ Officers found IO c1ga- fi [i r~ttes inside a b:an?-na~e t~ ~ cigarette pack inside his r~

pants' pocket. ''.~

Continued on page 23

Police Capt. Delbert Sablan briefs rescue team members on how to respond to an airline disaster during training exercises for CPA, DPS and EMO operatives at the old Koblerville runway Saturday. (FDT photo)

', . . ···---> ··-·· ...... -·-··· -- .

Inouye assures NMI of help on Covenant funding issues

I. I• !·. Austerity efforts save

CNMI $12M in FY '98 By Haldee V. Eugenio Variety News Staff By Haidee V. Eugenio

Variety News Staff TAKING up the cudgels for the CNMI, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii has relayed the concerns of the Common-:· ; (

, , wealth government to the Inte-"-' 11 rior Appropriations Subcom-' I t,1 mittee concerning the 1999 H Interior Appropriations Bill !.·'

1

1'.·:.:J :h/~;k~~~ U.S. Senate is about

,:4 CNMI Washington Rep.

:.·.~.] Juan N. Babauta earlier sought , the help of Inouye in an effort r to modify certain provisions of

the bill.

"Please be assured that I will assist wherever possible as action is completed on the Senate floor and the bill moves through con-ference deliberations," Inouye said in his letter to Babauta.

Babauta had raised concerns about the Clinton administration's proposal to dictate on the CNMI how to use $5.5 million out of the $11 million annual Covenant funding allotment for the CNMI in the current fiscal year.

The Clinton administration wants the CNMI to appropriate the funds for the construction of a prison facility and a crime labora-

Juan N. Babauta

tory. Babauta pointed out that un- ,

der the 1992 agreement be-

Continued on page ~3

THE CNMI Government was able to reduce by $12 miliion its total expenditures during fiscal year 1998, which ended yester-day, and it intends to further cut down spending.

The government will operate on a budget of $249 million for fiscal year 1999.

During a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio urged all governlT!ent offices to continue observing belt-tightening measures so that

. the reported $34 million cumu-lative deficit .since 1993 could be reduced.

Pedro P. Tenorio The governor also said that

since FY 1998 has just ended, the administration has to bal-

. ance its budget as required by

Continued on page 23

,

2-1\IARl:\N:\S VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY-OCTOBER. l. 1998

lJS seeS $70-B budget surplus

By ALAN FRAM WASHINGTON (AP) - On Wednesday, the final day of fiscal 1998.Pn:sidcmBillClintonproclaims that the adminisu·ation cxpecc; the yc,u-'s budget surplus to come close to$70billion. knowledgeable federal officials said. ~

'Ilic figrne will be ,mestimatconly, since data on 1998 revenue collec-tions mid federal spending won't be complete until ,uuundOct. 19. None-theless. Clinton is likely to use his ,umouncement of the !!ovemment's firstsrnplussincc 1969toclaimcrcdit for the accomplishment - ,u1d to chide cong1essional Rcpublicm1s for prnposing to use some of the su1plus for m1 clcction-yc,u· tax cut.

"I think he will w,mt to take the occasion of the first federal bud!!ct stnplus in a generation to talk ai;;ut fiscal discipline, what it's m:m1t to the economy ,md whc1e we go from here," said White House spokesm,m Mike McCuny.

Spanish King Juan Carlos (left) and Queen Sofia (right) laugh with Italian President Oscar Luigi Sea/faro (center) prior to a gala dinner at the Spanish Ambassador's residence in Rome Tuesday. The King and Queen of Spc11,. are in Italy on a five-day official and will also visit the cities of Naples and Palermo which

Republic,ms me also sure to say their budget-cutting policies since taking control of Congress in 1995 are re;ponsible for the

ft .,.a~·· Seeing stars with Ben

A FEW days ago, 1 have come to see a familiar old man again who, years back, was aiming to '"reach" 1,000 stars. Sitting on one of the concrete benches at the American Memorial Park, Ben was smiling as he watched the other senior citizens or Manamkos play yard polo in the field.

*** *** *** I looked at Ben as I slowly passed in front of him on board a car. He did

not recognize me; either his eyes are very blurred now or he was just too busy watching his peers. Anyway, I smiled at him as I continued driving the vehicle.

*** *** *** Ben is content with his life. He was 77 years old when I met him about

four years ago at the former Senior Citizens Center (Manamko) in Civic Center in Susupe. At the time, he told me he has I 5 children, 33 grandchil-dren and four great grandchildren.

*** *** *** While at the Center, Ben's oldersistertaughthim how to weave estrellas

(stars) using dried leaves of acgag (octopus tree). Local women, I was infom1ed, love to put stars made of acgag leaves at home as decorations.

*** *** *** The stars he made come in different sizes depending on the length and

width of the available leaves. The biggest star was the size of a man's fist. In making such stars, Ben used four tools-a small knife, a plastic knife, and two pointed lemon twigs. These tools are primarily utilized only in cleaning or removing the sharp edges of the acgag dried leaves.

*** *** *** Ben started very slow. Later, he could make the biggest star in just three

minutes. The smaller ones, which have small holes, took him four to five minutes to complete. He began his day at the Center, weaving stars at 8:30 a.m.

:,l:;.j::\'. *** *** At that time, Ben produced more than I 00 stars. He brought every

finished products at home. Later, he gave some of them to his friends. Instead of playing yard polo, dama, bingo, or watching TV as most of the Manamkos do, Ben preferred to sit in one comer and make stars.

*** *** *** When he joined the Ma,wmkos in 1992, Ben kept busy by weaving throw

nets. One net took him one to two months to complete. He also gave the nets to his friends. Out of 15 nets he had made, two were. left in his possession. He usually used it in fishing in Garapan during weekends as a form of exercise.

Ben said he was optimistic he could accomplish his goal which was to make I .000 stars in two months time. After "reachin!.!" these stars, the old man said he wil I go beyond. He was planni11g to do th; most difficult one-weaving a bird u,ing acgag leaves.

;j:;i:;;: *** ;:::;::;: I am not quite sure whether Ben indeed accomplished 1,000 stars and was

successful in his bird project. The last time; ,aw him prior to the American Memorial Park's ··encounter," he showed me :1,, ick. He pulled a matchbox from his pants· pocket and made it stand without touching it. Ben wirs unscl fish enough to teach me the trick, :he same thing he did to the stars and nets.

*** :\::!:* *** That same t.lav when I saw Ben at the Park. I heart.! that a tecnaned

boy committed suicit.le by shooting himself. Many suicide i1~ci-dents on Saipan were committed by teenagers. According to a recent study conducted by the Public School System, 987 of the 2,057 surveyed students grades,·. · :' 12 revealed that they tried to commit suicide.

*** *** *** In 1995, the suicide attempt r:nc was pegged al 43 percent, but

this was only among grades sevc:i to 12 students. Problems on love and relationship were reportedly the n'jll reasons why teenagers attempt suicide or consider suicide.

*** *** * ,; The teenagers' plights are far from Ben's outlook in life. The old

man pursues to accomplish something and ,hares them to other people. Ben reaches his age because he loves his life. lie is happy and content because he is unselfish.

Mr. Bumble Bee lawyer informed us that he heard rumors in the legal community that an attorney is subject ofan investiga-tion for allegedly 'illegally' hiring his maid who is an alien worker. Atty. Bumble Bee said he is dying to sec that lawyer charged in court. Honestly, I don't know why.

[iJ

.___,c=I S'URVEY: 60+ SEX IS geT!'ER

JACK ANDERSON and JAN MOLLER

WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND

Budget deadline looms in scandal's shadow AS AFE prediction: President Clinton, great! y weakened, will serve out the remainder of his term. The House of Representatives will im-peach him, but their decision won't be upheld by the sober Senate.

At least, that's the growing consensus on Capitol Hill, not just among Republicans but some Clinton partisans as well.

Translation: Pay no attention to the polls showing the president's numbers climbing after the release of his videotaped grand jury testimony. They merely prove that Americans instinctively root for underdogs and despise a bully.

Pay more attention to what the Republican "base" is saying. The folks who write the checks and preach from the pulpits - and vote in elections - will have the most to say about Clinton's political fate, at least in the short term.

Right now. they're telling their local law-makers to hang tough and vote impeachment. And the pro-impeachment forces are much more motivated than Clinton's apologists, who just want the whole mess lo go away.

Republicans are almost certain to reject any and all deals from the administration that would Jct Clinton off the hook in exchange for official censure and/or a stiff fine. Nobot.ly in the conservative ranks is eager to let the presi-dent off the hook, at least until after the voters have spoken in November.

There's a reason the House of Representa-tives is called "the people's House." If you want sober statesmanship, legislators who work "for the good of the country,'' look to the Senate. If you want to know what's hot on people's minds, talk to your local representa-tive. They 're the ones who must face the voters every two years. As a rule, they don't make a move unless they're sure it won't cost them their seats.

Right now, record numbers of calls are flood-ing congressional offices - most of them calling for impeachment. These calls can be more reliable than polls because, more often than not, they come from people who arc likely to vote.

Impeachment, of course, is not the same as removal from office - though you'd never know it from listening to the pundits. lm-peachrnentjust means the matter will move to the Senate, where Clinton only needs 34 votes

to survive. And although Democrats are nearly certain to lose ground in the Senate after the November elections, they' II retain at least 39 seats.

THE HIDDEN COST- If there's a hidden cost to the Clinton scandals, it's the one being played out this week and next on the floors of the House and Senate.

The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, when, by law, all 13 appropriations bills that fund the federal government must be passed and signed by the president. Congress extended that dead-line by one week, giving them enough breath-ing room to avoid a disastrous government shutdown.

Both Democrats and Republicans claim they'll get all the bills passed and their dif-ferences ironed out. As of this writing, how-ever, only one of the 13 had passed. Twelve more remained, plus an additional measure to provide "emergency" relief to farmers and the military.

"They 'vc never been this far behind," says one Democratic strategist, a veteran of many partisan budget wars.

What'll likely end up happening, several sources predict, is that Congress will end up wrapping at least four of the bills into one mammoth package called an omnibus recon-ciliation bill. Lawmakers will be forced to vote yes or no on the whole package, even if none of thcrn know exactly what it contains.

One thing that's certain to be included is plenty of money for highway projects. The current session of Congress has been among the most unproductive in memory, save for the pork-laden transportation bill pushed through by Rep. Bu

6-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY- OCTOBER. I, 1998

Pick-up flees after it hit pedestrian, -2 cars

By Zatdy Dandan Variety News Staff

released," Ada said. Police, however, have no in-

formation regarding the pick-up.

GVB records growth in non-Japan markets

AN EASTBOUND pick-up truck struck a pedestrian and two other cars before speed-ing away, according to po-lice.

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Rose T. Ada identified the pedestrian as Yu Jong Myeng, 26, of Garapan.

She said Yu was walking on the side of the road near Mom's Round Two when the hit-and-run incident happened at past midnight yesterday.

After slamming Yu, the pick-up swerved wildly to the opposite lane where it struck two westbound cars one after the other, Ada said.

Yu sustained lacerations on his head, lips, chin and neck area, she said.

"He was brought to the Commonwealth Health Cen-ter where he was treated and

Ada said DPS is asking any-one who may have any in-formation about the incident to call the police at 234-6333, or the Crimestoppers hotline, 234-7272.

Meanwhile, a man accused of beating up his 13-year old step-son changed his not guilty plea in return for a suspended sentence.

In a Superior Court hear-ing yesterday, the man pleaded guilty to one count of assault and battery and was placed on one year pro-bation.

A father of six, the man was also required to perform 20 hours of community ser-vice and to take parenting and anger management classes.

Continued on page 2"2

Variety News Staff HAGATNA- Despite continuing drops in tourism aITivals from Ja-pan, Guam attracted more visitors from other markets, Acting Guam Visitors Bureau General Manager Theresa Cruz-Paulino reported during yesterday's GVB 4th Quar-terly Membership Meeting.

Taiwan and Hong Kong both showed an 11 percent increase from last year's numbers while Australia's anivals continued to show a positive growth, increasing by 47 percent in July and rising by 29 percent in August.

··n1e inauguration of Continen-tal Micronesia's direct flights to Cairns and Noumea, increased the number of arrivals from Austra-lia," Paulino said.

Although there's good news in the non-traditional tourism mar-kets, the numbers continue to be down in Japan, Guam's primary market. For August, GVB reported a six percent decrease from Japan,

a whopping 76 percent decrease from Korea, and an eight percent decrease from the Philippines.

To mitigate the negative affects of the Asian economic crisis, GVB 's Board of Directors is push-ing for continued aggressive mar-keting in Japan and Taiwan.

In July, Paulino said the Japan Guam Tourism Council held its annual meeting on Guam and coun-cil members V::ere asked for advice on how to deal with the cunent situation.

"'Mr. Igarashi, general manager of the overseas division of JIB, shared-with the group the present conditions and immediate future trends of theJapan overseas trav-eler.

One suggestion that was made was the need forGuam to include our campaigns orotherpromotions in the tour wholesalebrochures.

"'We are pleased to announce that we are working on getting theinformation for the 1999 cam-

NORTHERN MARIANAS HOUSING CORPORATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP98-0074 Amendment No. I - Closing Date

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

Governor Pedro P. Tenorio and Lt. Governor Jesus R. Sablan, through the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (NMHC) Board of Directors, and !he Division of Procurement and Supply, hereby give notice that NMHC is soliciting SEALED PROPOSALS for the construction of the KAGMAN COMMUNITY CENTER, SAIPAN COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. '

Proposals, i~ duplicate, will be received at the office of Marylou S. Ada, Corporate Director, at the NMHC Central Office in Garapan, Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950, until 2:00 P.M., local time, Thursday, October 1, 1998. Any proposals received after the above date and time will not be accepted under any circumstances.

A Bid Bond, valued at 15% of the total proposal price, must accompany the sealed proposals. This security may be in the form of a Certified Check, Cashier's Check, or Bid Bond made payable to the Northern Marianas Housing Corporation, P.O. 514, Saipan, MP 96950.·

Proposals shall be on a form furnished with the contract documents. The participants are required to also submit with their proposal the following documents: 1) Copy of lhe current CNMl-issued Business License 2) Current audited financial statement 3) Listing of currenl and past projects, including completion dates 4) Certification of tax compliance from the Department of Revenue and Taxation 5) Written conflrm~tion from a reputable bonding company as to th.e Participant's ability to obtain insurance, Pertormance, and Payment Bonding for this project. 6) Copy of Builders Risk and Workmen's Compensation Coverage 7) Listing of manpower with copies of CNMl-issued worker permits 8) Listing of equipment available for this project

Pl~ns and Specifi~ations _for this project ~re available on or after Thursday, August 20, 1998, at the office of Efrain F. Camacho Engineers Architects, Suite 301, Bank of Hawaii Building, Puerto Rico, Sa1pan, CNMI, during the hours of 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, except for Federal Holidays. A non-refundable payment of two hundred and fltty dollars ($250.00) is required for each set. Payment shall be by cash, certified check, or cashier's check.

Attention is called to Section 3 of the Ho_using and Community Development Act of 196B which requires the provision of training and employment, and the awarding of contract for work, to l~w income prof~cl area res1de~ts an_d business concerns. NMHC also nolifies prop~sers that i( will affirmatively ensure that,. in any contract entered into pursuant lo this ad,ert1sement, minority and womens business enterprises will be accorded full opportunity to submit proposals 1n response to·th1s request.

Attention is a_lso called lo the Labor Standard Provisions for Wage Rate determination of the Commonwealth. Classification and Salary Structure Plans, and Payment of not less lhan the m1n1mum salaries and wages as set forth in the Confract Documents must be paid on this project.

All documents received shall be the sole property of the NMHC with the exception of the Bid Bond, Certified Check, or Cashier's Check, which will be returned to the proposers after the acceptance and award of contract to the successful contractor. ·

The Governmenl reserves the rig hf to reject any and all proposals and to waive any defects in the said proposals if in the sole opinion of NMHC to do so would be in its best interest. All proposals will become the proper1y of the Government. ' '

The contract award, ii ii is to be made, will be made within sixty days (60) lrom the receipt of proposals. Depending upon availability of funds NMHC reserves the right to hold such proposals m e~ect for ninety days (90) from the dale of opening of the proposals.

Each prospective proposer shall file with the NMHC, at the above Saipan address, a notice of his intention to submit proposals in a form substantially similar lo that supplied with the contract documents not less than six (6) calendar days prior to the date hereinabove designated.

is/Marylou S. Ada Corporate Director Date: August 18, 1998

is/Herman S. Sablan Acting Director, Procurement & Supply Date: August 18, 1998

paigns included in these brochures as theywere deemed the most ef-fective way in publicizing promo-tional efforts,"Paulino said.

On the local front, Paulino said GVB continues to implement projectsthat are aimed to improve Guam tourism.

The beachside beautification at Ypao Beach has been completed and tourists wi 11 see more redevclopmcntin Tumon.

Capital improvements such as this will continue in fiscal year! 999, Paulino said.

Other GVB local community projects sustained for the upcom-ing yearinclude the cultural arts programs in the schools, tour guidecertifications, and the visitor information center at GVB.

In addition, Paulino said GVB continued the promotion of Guam overseasand attended the follow-ing marketing promotions:

•Continental Micronesia'sProd-Continued on page 22

THE DEPARTMENT of Lands and Natural Resources and the Urban and Community Forestry Program are teaming up to give Saipan a "Greener Look."

Last week, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio proclaimed October as Arbor Month, which is also being celebrated nationwide.

DLNR spokesperson Marianne Concepcion in a news release said the Department will be encourag-ing everyone to plant a tree this month be giving away free plants.

Recipients, however, have to choose between the $30 vouchers (which are) redeemable on three private nurseries or receive four free plants at the Forestry Nurs-ery in Kagman.

"We arc giving out $30 vouch-ers to help encourage everyone to plant a plant. The vouchers can be picked up at the DLNR office in Lower Base, Kagrnan Plant In-dustry, Division of Parks and Grounds or at the Marianas Visi-tors Authority," says Concepcion.

The $30 vouchers are made pos-sible from a federal grant and 150 vouchers will be given away on a first come, first served basis.

The vouchers will allow fami-lies to choose a plant of their choice from three different nurs-eries on island, which are: Calvos Nursery, Tropical Garden and the Saipan Plant.

1-Iowever, only 50 vouchers will be issued per nursery, so vouch-ers should be avai I of as soon as you can.

Concepcion said the Forestry Nursery at the Kagm:m Station will also be open for those who did not receive a voucher, enti-tling them to choose four plants.

To help kick off the event, there will be a tree planting ceremony today at Veterans Memorial Park across from MHS and right next

Continued on page- 22

I !,i

_THURSDAY, OCT_Q_f3E~ I , _19_98 -l\.1ARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-7

I pins hope on MVA blitz By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

THE ISLANDS' hotels, which have long been bearing the bnmt of low tourist mTival rates, are pinning their hopes on a grand plan hatched by the Marianas Visi-tors Authority (MV A) to lure more Japanese visitors into the Com-monwealth.

•·we arc in a very critical and WOITisome situation at this point," said Ronald Sablan, president of the 21-member Hotel Associa-tion of the Northern Mariana Is-lands (HANMI), in an interview.

"'Our occupancy continues to . go down and there are concerns about how we will deal with them next year if the economy contin-ues on a downturn," he added.

Sablan said MVA 's "Visit the Marianas '99" promotional cam-paign could help the local indus-try get back on its feet.

Rons.Id Sablan

The campaign is designed to increase awareness and create more activity for tourists visiting the Commonwealth.

"We are hoping that by launch-ing it (campaign), we will be able to receive good response from the Japanese market and increase our arrivals," said Sablan.

He clarified though that

HAN MI is not expecting fruitful results to happen overnight.

"We arc hoping that as ti me goes on, people wi II consider CNMJ as a newly-revived, excit-ing and valuable destination," said Sablan.

Sablan said a mere 4 percent of Japanese travelers visits the Com-monwealth.

MV A's campaign, he said, could play a pivotal role in cap-turing a bigger portion of the J apa-nese tourist market.

"It is very small that's why we are hoping to target them by changing the market niche. We are hoping that people who nor-mally travel to Hawaii, the US mainland and Europe would con-sider Saipan," he said.

Sablan said the same promo-tional approach may be utilized in other markets following the Ja-pan experiment.

Cepeda eyes trash pick-up project

Frank G. Cepeda

By Louie C. Alonso Variety News Staff

REPRESENTATIVE Frank G. Cepeda has introduced a pro-gram under his office that would help the youth earn extra in-come a volunteering his or her services.

Cepeda came up with "Pick

The Trash Project" this year in an effort to build a clean and beauti-ful environment for Saipan.

"Pick The Trash" is Cepeda's pet project that involves commu-nity participation. The goal of the program is not only building a clean environment but also help-ing the volunteers financially.

According to Cepeda's wife, Fe, volunteers forthis bi-monthly project is increasing.

"We only include volunteers that signs up in Rep. Cepeda's office for the program. Last time, we have a baseball team as volun-teers. Instead of paying them money, we gave them something that the team needs for their compe-tition," said Mrs. Cepeda.

The program according to Fe, is paying volunteers for $3.15 per hour.

"'TI1e money comes straight from the congressmm1's pocket. It is our way of encouraging the youth to

help clean ourenvironmentand at the same time, earn money by their own means," contin-ued Fe.

The volunteers usually do their "trash-picking" activities at the precint 4 which include places such as Kagman, Capi-tol Hills, Tanapag, As Matuis and San Roque.

The project was originally designed to encourage the youth from low-income families to participate an

8-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY· OCTOBER I 1998

Motorist arrested for driving through officers

By Jacob Leon Guerrero injuries, but managed to identify the vehicle ·s license plate. P:m!.'.clinan has been charged with attc~1ptcd assault with a motor vehicle, resisting~n,-est, and reck-less driving. Hc,was booked and released.

GHC assists in Chainorro land trust loan program

Variety News Staff BARRIGADA. Guam-Joseph Juan Pangelinan. 26. ofBa!1'igada. was a!1'e~t.:d Monday afte1;1oon for an incident that ocru!1'eJ ear-lier this month.

According to police spokcsm:m Ron Taitano. Pangelinan passed a pol ice cru iscr. dri\·ing north bound on Route I at high speed.

When the officers tried to pull him ewer. he accelerated throu~h tL1ffic throu1;.h Gavincro Roacl. and the Takano l~ousing area. stopping at a tkad end.

The ,1fficers got out and or-dered him to step out of the ve-hicle. Pan!!.clinan then accckrated towards tJ{e officas. They jumped out of the way and he escaped.

The officers sustained minor

In other police news. GPD an-nonnced a missing persons watch for Richard C. Thompson. 28. of Tamuning. He is described to be 5"7'', J501b .. with brown eyes. brown hair. a lighlcompkxion :mJ with a mustache.

His fa11ily hL,t saw him Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.

He was d1iving a 1998 blue Jeep Cherokee. which was latern:covered by his family at the Pacific Star Hotel.

If you have information call GPD at 472-891 I or Crimestoppers at 477-HELP.

By Tanya M.C. Mendiola Variety News Staff

HAGATNA- The Chamorro Land Trust Commission has si!!lled a memorandum of agree-m~nt with the Guam Housing Corp. in which GHC personnel will help implement a Joan divi-sion service program for les-sees.

The GHC staff, headed by Loan Administrator Mary Guerrero, is expected to begin the service this week.

Under the program, person-nel will interview, screen and pre-qualify Chamorro Land Trust lessees to ascertain if they are eligible for housing loans. If the applicant is eligibl;, the staff will then assist the commission in negotiations with private lend-ing institutions.

Accord.ing to Chammrn Land Trust Commission Federal Pro-orams Administrator Ron Teehan, ci1e loan is for trust lessees who desire to build on their land.

The structure must adhere lo Guam building codes, but the de-sign is to be p;ovided by the les-see.

Teehan said the commission was very fortunate to have Mary Guerrero and her staff assist them in tl1is program.

"The commission is very ex-cited about implementing the pro-l!ram, because we 'vc made it over ; major hurdle," said Teehan.

"The loan guarantee fund has taken us to the next step. Not only can we give land, but we can also provide-the means to build," said Teehan.

According to Teehan, to date,

the commission has issued out $2. I million to 45 lessees in SBA home loans.

He added that the commis-sion can guarantee in excess of $25 million in home loans for qualified bo1rnwers.

Loans will vary depending on payment ability.

And applicants don't have to have been assigned land to apply for the Joan. If they are ready or fairly close on the application list for land, they can apply for a loan immediately.

Teehan said the program will go on indefinitely. He added that the memorandum of agreement between the com~ission and the Guam Housing Corp. is on a year-to-year basis.

By Jacob Leon Guerrero Variety News Staff

T..\\lC'\l:\G. Gu,m1 - D:m1i:m l\lichad Ford. 18. or S,mta Rita. is in police custody for ,t,saulting three men Monday c:vcning.

When thcv w1iveu the suspect went inside. but he did not return.

1l1e uio looked :u-ound for Ford .u1d found him nearbv at Sunnv 's Plaza. One of the victi1;,s confronied Ford. who got upset and assaulted him.

DOLI consults business sector, legislators on amnesty law, regs

According to police spokesm:m Ron Taitmo. the \·ictims. also from S:mla Rita. !!.ave the suspect a ride to Ma11y 's R~staurant in Tamuning. because he agreed to pay for the g:1.,.

When the other victim tried lo stop tl1c fight, Ford allegedly grabbed a skatebo:u-d and repeatedly suuck him

Conttnuea on page 23

HOWARD TRAPP ATTORNEY AT LAW

HOWARD TRAPP INCORPORATED

200 SAYLOR BUILDING

139 CHALAN SANTO PAPA

AGANA, GUAM 96910

TELEPHONE

(671l477-7000

FACSIMILE (671l477-2040

By Ferdie de la Torre Variety News Staff

11-!E DEPARTMENT of Labor and Immigrationhasstmtedconsultations with tl1e privatesectonmd the Legis-lature over DOLi's proposed rules and regulations on the limited immu-nity Jaw.

DOU Secrelal)' Mm-k Zachru-es saidhediscussedthepre\iminarydraft for the limited immunity Monday with Hotel Association of the Nrnth-em Mariana Islands (HANMI) Presi-dent Ronald Sablan and Saipan Gar-ment Manufacturers Association ex-ecutive director Richard A. Pierce.

:r.,achru-es said he also a meeting

1;' O . · A L . L . . J;> A . L. A · ti .A N · S

Happy 4th Independence Day to

Republic of Palau

From ROSHl'S Variety Store

Special Independence Day Sale at ROSHl'S Sale Begins September 25 to October 4

Mark Zachares

Monday afternoon with members House and Senate leadership about theircommentsonDOLI'sproposed draft

Gov. Pedro Tenorio earlier said he will meet with members oflhe Leg-

islatu1-e ru1d DOLi officials to discuss possible ways to prevent the ai11.:st and deportation of illegal aliens who come forwai·d before the Jaw ttkes into effect.

Rep. Manuel A. Tenorio, authorof the immunity bill, agreed that mea-sures have to be installed to properly enforce the Jaw without jeopaitlizing its original intent.

Under PL 11-33, qualified illegal aliens mi.: guarJ11teed immunity from all prosecution mising from their be-ing in or employed in the CNMI illegally prior to the date of their submission to DOU forregisU11tion.

Zachares said no agreement was reached eluting his meeting with Sab!.m and Pierce.

6-mo. provision in 3-year limit bill too long--Ayuyu

By Jojo Dass Variety News Staff

TIIE PROPOSED six-month pe-ric

10-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY- OCTOBER I, 1998

The Around the Islands section covers community stories, local events, and cultural activities. Should you have a story you would like to share, or an event that needs to

be covered, contact Lalla at 234-6341

NMBPA calling on local performers for '99 pageant PROMISING a packed room for perhaps the most spectacu Jar lo-cal event before the century's end, the Northern Mari:mas Beauty Pageant Association is calling on all local performers co submit their names to be considered in the line-up for the 1999 Miss CNMI Universe Pageant.

Next year will mark the pageant's 25th anniversary in the Commonwealth, and the event promises to draw a record crowd as the 199 Miss CNMl Universe

is crowned. As such, all performers will

have the opportunity to showcase their talent to a full capacity crowd, as well as add this coveted perfor-mance opportunity on their re-sume.

All performers are welcome to submit their intention to pe1form.

The NMBPA wishes to espe-cially invite young pe1formers who may serenade the contes-tants. _ .. -~- _ __

Continuea on page 23

Red Cross sends local volunteers to Caribbean TIIEAMERICAN Red Cross has sent six local volunteers to help in disaster relief operations in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the US gulf states which is currently bearing the brunt of hurricane George's wrath.

'This opportunity for our local volunteers to get experience will greatly impact future disaster operations here in the Common-wealth," said Red Cross Emergency Services Director Charito Schadeck.

"It will allow our own people to get experience in a Red Cross disaster relief operation, to move up in their specific function and to serve in supervisory positions for disasters here in the Common-wealth," she added.

Cpntlnued on page 23

Bar Association d9nates podium to Supreme C6urt THE NORTHERN Marianas Bar Association yesterday donated a podium worth S 1,000 to the Su-preme Court.

"This isa good example of how we can work together,'" the bar association president-and former Supreme Court associate

justice-Ramon G. Villagomez said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Marty W.K. Taylor described the podium as a ··fine piece of furni-ture" and praised the bar associa-tion and lawyer Richard Pierce for coming up with the idea.

The podium replaces the "rather dilapidated and old one" which lawyers used whenever they present their oral arguments be-fore the CNMI's highest court.

With Villagomez during yesterday's simple "turnover" cer-emony were bar association vice

president and acting Attorney General Maya B. Kara, bar asso-ciation secretary Ma!thew Gre-gory and bar association di-rectors Ramona V. Manglona, who is also an assistant attor-ney general, and Michael White.

(!&ff ice of tbe Jf ob Z!Craining ,Jlartnersbip ~ct ~ff tee of tbe ~obenror

QCommonwea:ltb of tbe ~ortbern jfffl.aria:na: 3JS'la:nbS'

On behalf of the Governor's JTPA Office and the Trainees, I would like to take this opportunity in extending our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the following firms for your strong commitment and participation in according Employment and Training opportunities to our indigenous work force in an effort of finding mean-ingful employment.

Herman's Modern Bakery Law Office of Perry B. Inos J.C. Tenorio Enterprises, INC. Sister Remedios Preschool, ECDC IT&E, Saipan Office Chang's Corporation Saipan Grand Hotel Rota Coconut Village (Rota) Sam's Corporation VB Manglona Enterprises (Rota)

Carrier Guam Inc. J&MJ Enterprises Kan Pacific Law Office of Douglas Cushnie Law Office ofJohn Chambers Marianas Air Inc. Moylans Insurance Underwriters Inc. Saipan Sea Ventures Pacific Gardenia

Your willingness for such undertaking, exemplifies a shared commitment that this is a social issue, therefore, we must work collectively on efforts to enable our people to become contributing members of our community. I hope that in the future should the need arise for an additional staff, you would consider us to assist on the matter.

For those firms that are interested in "getting involve" on such worthy cause, contact Mr. Richard Santos or Mr. Vicente Sablan at 664-1707. Once again, Si Yuus Ma'ase, Olomwaay, and Thank You for your support and good luck in your business endeavor.

/s/Fclix R. Nogis JTPA Executive Director

xc: Governor

GES students of the week

Clarissa Macabugao, second-grade student from Mrs. Jebehn's dass, al-ways comes to school early and pre-pared. Clarissa is very dependable and always lends a hand to her teacher.

Jefferlno Nelson, fourth-grade student from Mrs. Byington's dass, has worked hard lo earn tfre Student of the Week Award. He follows directions and com-pletes his work on time and is always in a cheetful, positive mood.

Joseph Sos, third-grade student from Mrs. Schaeffer'sdass, has shown steady 11rowthsincecomingtoGES.Heiswork-rng hard to improve his reading skills and is a shining star in math.

Laurie ()qumoro, sixth-grade student from Mr. Dmes' class, has good moral character. Laurie is a member of the Junior Police Honor Society at GES and is vice-president of Room 0-205.

Malyssa Castro, fifth-grade student from Mr. Basa's dass, is an excellent student. She always gets good grades on her school work. She completes her dasswork and homework effidently and promptly. When she finishes her work early, she likes to go around and assist her dassmales who need extra help.

Tionl Alvarez, lirst-gradr;ludent from Mrs. Reynolds' dass, is a delightful stu-dent. She is friendly, generous and kind. Her behavior is a good example lo her dassmates and she is willing to help any time.

.]

i THURSDAY, OCTOBER I, 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-11

Northern Marianas College

Community Services Program announces

COMMUNITY COURSES FOR EVERYONE FALL 1998

SHORT TERM COURSES OPEN TO EVERYONE

These are short, practical. fun courses on topics of interest to all. The courses arc open to everyone. All you need is the desire to learn. Continuing Education Units (CEU) units are awarded upon completion of a qualifying course.

REGISTRATION IS ON-GOING, AND Wll.L CONTINUE UNTIL THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. PLEASE REGISTER AT THE OFFICE OF THE CONTINUING EDUCATION AT BLDG. V, ROOM 208, BETWEEN 8 AM AND 5:30 PM. You must be registered to be admitted into class! Tuition payments will be accepted at the Continuing Education office. Cash, check, Visa or Master Card accepted. A late registration fee of $5.00 will be charged for registration after the first day of class.

·······-······ ...... ........

COURSE NUMBERffITLE lJNITS

COMPUTER APPI.JCATTONS

CG 010 01 IBM PC: THE BASICS 4

CG 01002 IBM PC THE BASICS 4

CG 015 01 W1ND0WS'98 10

CG 015 02 WIND0WS'98 10

CG 020 01 INTRO TO EXCEL 7 ON WINDOWS '95 10

CG 028 01 INTRO TO MICROSOFT WORD FOR WINDOWS '95 10

CA01501 INTRO TO PEACHTREE ACCOUNTING 24

CG 045 01 Y2K (YEAR 2000) SEMINAR 3

cs 015 01 INTRODUCATION TO VISUAL BASICS (VB5) 15

M,lCINTOSll Al'l'L/Cr\TJONS

CM 010 01 MACINTOSH: THE BASICS 6

CM 015 01 INTRO TO CLARISWORKS 10

CM 020 01 INTERNET FOR TEACHERS 10

LANGUAGE

20

20

24

24

HIGH INTEREST TOPICS EARN CPE UNITS

All courses require a minimum number of students in order 10 begin. If a course is cancelled due to low enrollment, you will be notified and a full refund issued. Refunds requested prior to the first meeting of any class will be assessed $5.00 for administrative costs. No refunds will be issued after the first session of any class.

For inquiries concerning registration and course availability, ca\\ the Community Services Office at 234-5498, Ext. 1813-1814. For additional details, see the Fall 1998 Community Services Program brochure available al NMC or Joeten-Kiyu Library.

. ' .... .... ..

DATES TIME DAYS ROOM INSTRUCTOR FEE'

TBA 6:30-8:30PM T. TH W-2 F. OLIVER $40

Ocl.17 8:00-12 Noon SAT W-3 F. OLIVER $40

Oct. 24-Nov. 7 8:00-12Naan SAT W-3 F. OLIVER S110

Nov. 10-24 6:30-8:00PM T, TH W-2 F OLIVER $110

Oct. 20-Nav. 10 6:30-8:00PM M.W W-2 S. MENSAH $110

Nov. 16-Dec. 7 6:30-8:30PM M,W W-2 S. MENSAH $110

Nov. 17-Dec. 17 6:30,9:30PM T, TH W·2 $.MENSAH $210

Nov. 19 2:00-5:00PM TH v.110 F. OLIVER $70

Oct. 5·28 6:30-8:00PM M.W W-2 F. OLIVER S288

October 3 & 10 12:30-3:30PM SAT W-1 R NEWPORT S55

Oct. 19-Nav. 2 6:00-8:00PM M,W W-1 J SMITH $100

Nov. 10-24 6:00-8:00PM T. TH W-1 J SMITH $100

Oct. 6-Nov. 19 6:30-8:00PM T. TH A-1 H. YASUKATA sros TBA 6:30-8:00P M T. TH A-4 STAFF $105

Sept. 30-Nav. 6 7:00-8:30PM MWF A-3 J. CONNOLLY $130 Oct. S.Nov. 13 7:00-8:30PM MWF A-5 B. PEREZ. ,no

JA04001

JA 042 01

EN 010 01

EN 011 01

EN 012 01

CH010 01

CR01001

BEGINNING CONVERSATIONAL JAPANESE

INTERMEDIATE CONVERSATIONAL JAPANESE

BEGINNING CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH, LEVEL A

BEGINNING CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH, LEVEL B

INTERMEDIATE CONVERSATIONAL ENGLISH

BEGINNING CONVERSATIONAL CHAMORRO

BEGINNING CONVERSATtONAL CAROLINIAN

24 Nov. 16-Dec. 21 7:00·8:30PM MWF A·5 B. PEREZ $130

GENHRA/, INTERESTS

GC 001 01

GC 004 01

INTRO TO BLACK & WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

GRE PREPARATION: MATH & VERBAL

GC 005 01 PSATISAT I PREPARATION

GC 014 01 SELF·DEFENSE FOR WOMEN

.. iJ/TS & CI/.\FTS

AC 019 01 BEGINNING MWARMWAR MAKING

AC 019 02 BEGINNING MWARMWAR MAKING

AC 020 01 INTERMEDIATE MWARMWAR MAKING

AC 028 01 OCCASSIONAL GIFT CRAFTS

!JOl,IB ECONOMICS

HE 015 01 PREPARING LOCAL DISHES: "BUNELOS'

.. ("'\:- ,.,

~)) ', . ' ., / .... ~ .. _) , __ .Q....!....l

HE 017 01 PREPARING FILIPINO DISHES: "PANCIT" & "TURON' (BANANA LUMPIAJ

HE02101 PREPARING SAMOAN DISHES: "PALASAMI" & "POKI"

HE 026 01 SCRUMPTIOUS 'NO BAKE" DESSERTS

HE 025 01 DELICIOUS DESSERTS: 'HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON ROLLS'

HE 036 01 TANTALIZING APPETIZERS: SHRIMP KELAGUEN WI CORN TITIYAS

HE 040 01 BASIC SEWING SKILLS

FOOD & BE\1EIUGE tr BARTENDING: SPIRITS & SERVICE I FS 013 01 FS 014 01 BARTENDING: ALE, BEER & WINE BARTENDING: WHISKIES FS 015 01 FS 016 01 WINE TASTING'

M!U1ARr SCIENCE CALL FOR DETAILS

l'OUTll Cl . .ASSBS

20

20

22

15

(AgesS-10) ~ 't YP 012 01 POLYNESIAN DANCING FOR KIDS . ,1,; \ POLYNESIAN DANCING FOR KIDS (Ages 10-13) "',''\ !i-~! ' YP 012 02 ,,. '.\: '. :,.'·'~,;

yp 010 01 BALLET & CREATIVE MOVEMENTS (Ages 4-6) " . J7··~~ r'\ BALLET & CREATIVE MOVEMENTS (Ages 7-10) yp 010 02 '/';\ ~! .... ·r\ ~").;. . .'.,..'.. ' . --- ,,,., - ·.: yp 015 01 HOLIDAY CRAFTS FOR KIDS ' yp 035 01 YOUTH SPORTS: "T-BALL FOR CHILDREN'

yp 021 01 CONVERSATIONAL CAROLINIAN FOR YOUTHS

Ocl. 20-Nav. 19 6:30-8:00PM

Oct. 20-Nov. 19 6:30-8:00PM

Oct. 7-Nov. 25 7:00-9:00PM

TBA TBA

TBA TBA

Oct. 10-Nov 7 9:00· 1 2 Noon

TBA 9·00-12 Noon

October 17 9:00-12 Noon

November 14 9 00-12 Noon

Ooc.5&12 9:00-12 Noon

Oct. 3 9:00-12 Noon

Oct. 17 9:00-12 Noon

Oct. 24 9:00-12 Noon

Oct. 31 9:00-12 Noon

Nov. 7 9:00-12 Noon

Nov. 14 9:00-12 Noon

Nov. 7-28 9:00-12 Noon

TBA 7 00-10:00PM

Oct 19 7:00-10:00PM

Nov. 9 7:00-10:00PM

Nov. 30 7:00-10:00PM

Oct. 17-Nov. 14 9:00-11 :OOAM

Ocl. 17-Nov. 14 1 :30-3:30PM

TBA TBA

TBA TBA

TBA 9:00-11:00AM

Ocl. 5-Nov. 5 4:30-5:30PM

Oct. 19·Nov. 25 5:CJ0-6:30PM

T, TH A-10 N. TAISACAN $105

T,TH A-12 J ELAMETO $105

WED V-110 J. ELLIS $298

T. TH TBA E. DRUMWRIGHT $130

T,TH TBA E DRUMWRIGHT S130

SAT V-215 R BELTRAN S55

SAT A-8 p KAPILEO S15

SAT A-8 P KAP/LEO 315

SAT V-215 P KAPILEO S15

SAT V-215 STAFF S40

SAT Home Ee STAFF S15

SAT Home Ee STAFF $20

SAT Home Ee. R.MADRIAGA $35

SAT Home Ee. T. ABRAHAM $30

SAT Home Ee. C. SCHWEIZER $30

SAT Harne Ee. TABRAHAM $40

SAT Home Ee. S. MENDIOLA $60

MON Barking Gecko S. LUNFORD $20

MON Barking Gecko S. LUNFORD $20

MON Barking Gecko S. LUNFORD $20

MON Barking Gecko S LUNFORD $25

SAT A-7 STAFF $80

SAT A-7 STAFF $80

SAT TBA E. DRUMWRIGHT $80

SAT TBA E. DRUMWRIGHT $BO

SAT TBA SUZUKlfTUDELA $50

M, W. Th ADA GYM T. ROGOLIFOI $50

M,W A-1 RJOAB $50

I

I '

J2-MAR~J"I_AS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY-OCTOBER. I ,_1998 _______________ _

Fiji offers support for Tonga project NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews)-Fiji President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara has offered his support and assistance to Tonga's traditional Kali a project to welcome the new millennium.

R:Jtu Sir Kamisese gave his fovour11bk response to a four-mcm ber Tongan group who sought assistance from the chiefs ,md government of Fiji.

The project im·ol\'cs the build-in!'. of a traditional canoe 10 be n,~rncd Kalia. which will be launched on January I.200010 sail around Tongan waters.

A member of the group Afu Taumoepcau of the Tonga National Centre. says Ratu Sir Kamisese 's suppor1 enabled their mission to confirm all aspects of the Kalia project.

Arrnngements were also finalised with tw; Fiji timber mills, Fijim1 Foresoy Indusoy 1md Feru1ing Pa-cific Limited, to prepare the timber.

Taumoepeau says constrnction work will begin immediately after the first shipment arrives in Nuku'alofa next month.

The project will cost around 150.000 Pa' anga ($US88,000).

Nauru to get China loan YAREN (Pacnews)-The Re-public of China (ROC) has agrccu 10 grant i\auru a loan of SUS 20 million.

President Bernard Dowiyogo tolJ parliament th~lt ROC will disburse the loan in two tranches of SUS IO million.

Ile savs that the terms of the loan arc."attrnC'live" and will be agreed upon by his government soon.

President Dowiyogo attrib-

uted the success of this devel-opment to the efforts of the Ministries of External Affairs and Finance and the "excellent long-standing. friendly and co-operative relations" between Nauru and ROC.

The President thanked the government and the people of the ROC adding that his gov-ernment is commiued to further co-operation to strengthen their warm relationship.

Vanuatu PM responds to opposing party's warning PORT VILA (Pacnews)-Vanuatu Prime Minister Donald Kalpokas says the current dispute between the two political parties in government, Vanuaaku Pati (VP) aml the National United Party (NUP) can only be solved by the parties joint committee as contained in the Memorandum of Agreement.

He was referring to NUP warning VP not to interfere with ministries under its responsibility.

NUP's concern was raised following the transfer of the Rural Water Supply section from the Ministr; of Public Works. a NUP portfolio to the Ministry of Lands. under VP.

Kalpokas who is currently attending the United Nations Gen-eral Assemblv in New York, says he agrees in principle that the Rural Water Supply Section will be returned to the Ministry of Public Works.

Saturday, Octobel' 3rd Starting at 10:0P p.m~

'' ',. '

BY POPULAR DEMAND: .. --The BARKING GECKO will

have a monthly dance night!

DON'T MISS OUT AGAIN! The Barking Gecko .... _

"where the Bites, Brews, & the Beat are better · than the Bark!"

Call 235-BARK for more information (Located in the Gold Beach Hotel, Beach Rd., South Garapan)

~Zalk• Elsewhere in. the Pacifi.c . · ·

Search, rescue for diver lost at sea in Palau is off

KOROR (Palau Horizon) -Rescue of a Palau Sports diver over the week was called off after an exhaustive search was con-ducted by the police and emer-gency personnel.

Declared missing was Roland Tirso who was last seen at Blue Comer with other tourists' divers in the afternoon of Sept. I 5. The 25-ye:.1rold diver had two years of experience in assisting divers in open water diving.

Tirso ran out of oxygen while checking on Tomoaki Taguchi who had not surfaced with other divers.

Tirso was able to reach the Japa-nese divers but was out of oxy-gen.

Due to strong currents at about 29.4 meters underthe surface, the two got separated with Taguchi able to surface.

Tirsowas reported to have been wearing an orange diving suit with

six pound diving weight secured around his waist area and a black v.c.

Rescue lead by Alfonso Ngiriawet was finally called off six days after the incident was reported.

In the meantime, Justice Minis-ter Elias Camsek Chin warned boaters to take precautionary mea-sures to avert disaster. The warning came in the light of several reports of missing fishermen. (ML.SJ

New charges may yet arise from PNG Sandline inquiry MELBOURNE (Pacnews)-Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister says it will be up to the relevant authorities to de-cide whether criminal charges arise from the second inquiry into the Sandline mercenary affair.

Radio Australia's corre-spondent in Port Moresby, Scan Dorney reports the in-quiry has concluded that the former Deputy Prime Minis-ter, Chris Haiveta, failed to tell the truth under oath and received an unlawful payment.

Chris Haiveta has labellcu the findings against him as simply untrue and has accused

Bill Skate

Prime Minister Bill Skate of conducting a witch hunt.

Skate says that it's now up to what he calls the appropri-ate law enforcement bodies to assess information and if laws have been broken it's only fit-ting that the full weight of the law is brought down on those involved.

Former Defence Force Com-mander, Jerry Singirok may also be implicated.

The Inquiry found that pay-ments he received from a Brit-ish military supplier, Frankl ins, amounted to bribes, financial inducements or se-cret commissions.

Palaujoins environmental campaign KOROR (Palau Horizon) - Some 40 mi Ilion volun-teers from the farthest-spread corners of the earth had been deployed as "envi-ronmental army" into the frontline of protecting Mother Earth.

Palau is one of the 120 countries giving "grassroots support" to a worldwide en-vironmental campaign called "Clean Up the World" organized by the United Nations Environment Pro-gram (UNEP).

The grassroots approach of the "Clean Up the World" campaign has made a dent in involving local commu-nities in developing long-

term solutions (tree planting, environmental education and information campaign at the village level, environment-friendly garbage disposal sys-tem like compost and recy-cling) to environmental il 1-ncsses.

Palau's fifth year of par-ticipation in the worldwide campaign was marked by an increased environmental army participation from 60 volun-teers in 1993 to over 500 in 1997.

According to Joe Aitaro, one of the organizers, this year's event was more on volunteerism. For the past four years, government and other concerned agencies had

to organize groups for the clean-up campaign.

Over the week, people were urged to make their own contributions to ad-vance the goals of the "Clean UP the World" cam-paign.

Aitaro said Palau's im-mediate concern during the long-week event was to ad-dress Ii ttering problem af-fecting the main island.

Aside from the Babeldaob Road, the Ice Box Park in Malakai and areas close to the ocean or nearshorc waters were also the target for clean-up by the environniental army.

(MLS)

Gov't bans importation of poultry from Australia

Prolonged drought

PORT VILA (Pacnews)-The Vanuatu Govern-ment has banned the importation of poultry and poultry products from Australia for a fourteen-day period effective from September 23.

The ban was announced recently by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, John M01Tison Will ic after the discovery of an outbreak of Newcastle Disease, a serious poultry disease found on two farms outside Sydney.

Control measures have already taken place includ-ing destroying al I birds on the farms, as well as banning the movement of poultry and poultry prod-ucts from those farms.

NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews)-People on Tonga's northern Ha'apai Group have been experiencing a prolonged drought period over the past two months.

Islanders are facing severe water shortages. Health complications including diarrhoea and

vomiting have been reported at Niu'ui hospi-tal.

Local health authorities have warned people to boil all drinking water

The islands worst affected include Lofanga, Ha'afeva, Kauvai, Pukotala, 'Uiha and Felemes.

'-~·, ;,, 1,

----:-----=---------:::~~-------------------TH~U~R~S~DAY, OCTOBER I , 1998 -MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-f3

The 'Joeten' of the Marshalls •

Mega-businessman Reimers dies By Giff Johnson For the Variety

Majuro - Flags began flying at half mast in the Marshall Is-lands Tuesday in honor of Rob-ert Reimers, the country's fore-most businessman and civic leader, who died in Honolulu Sunday at Straub Hospital just short of his 89th birthday.

President Imata Kabua de-clared a week of national mourn-ing, saying in an executive or-der issued today that Reimers was "a prominent Marshallese citizen who dedicated his life to improve the livelihood and well-being of the Marshallese people through his relentless efforts and undertakings as a business and civic leader."

His death brings to a close an era of Marshallese businessmen who got their start during the Japanese administration of the Marshall Islands in the 1930s.

Reimers was regarded the Joeten of the Marshall Islands, in reference to the late business fioneer of saipan, Jose C. Tenorio.

U.S. Navy Commander Frank Avila, who worked in the Marshalls after World War II, recalling his friendship with Robert in the late 1940s, said "he was one of those gifted people that you meet once in a lifetime."

Reimers was the son of a Marshallese mother and Ger-man father who created the Marshalls' first multi-million dollar corporate dynasty - the largest family-owned business in the Marshall Islands, with grocery, retail and hardware stores, shipping agency, office rentals, a hotel, car rentals and sales, a restaurant, and a clnm and pearl oyster farm.

Reimers' son Ramsey, who is the chief executive officer of the company Robert Reimers Enterprises, said that his father had a vision and initiative that guided the company since it was founded 48 years ago.

The Marshall Islands Journal commented: "Robert will be long remembered for his easy going and down-to-earth man-ner, lively sense of humor, promptness for appointments, im-patience at being made to wait, and the sparkle in his eye when he was telling a story."

"Above all, he provided a vision for the business com-munity in the Marshall Is-lands, and constantly set a standard against which all other businesses measured themselves."

Reimers learned business from the bottom up as a teen-ager in the 1920s working for an uncle trading copra for mer-

chandise. But the downside of working

for an older relative, as Reimers once recalled, was that he did all the work and his uncle kept all the money.

By the early 1930s, he took up a job with the Japanese firm Taiyo Shoten.

His business ability was rec-ognized by the Japam;se who sent him to remote Wotje Atoll to manage the company's store there.

At the time, it was virtually unheard of for a Marshall Is-lander to manage a Japanese business.

The outbreak of World War II curtailed trade and he moved to his wife's atoll, Likiep.

His time there was full of small money making initia-tives: brewing alcohol on home made stills to sell to the visiting Japanese ships that called each month; later carv-ing wooden cigarette boxes and other handicrafts to sell to the Americans at K wajalein after the war.

U.S. Navy officials on Kwajalein learned of Reimers' boat building and carpentry prowess - prior to the war he had designed and built a hand-ful of outrigger canoes - from another Likiep Islander, and brought him to the Navy base

to work at the boat pool in 1947.

He was soon running the boat pool - converting old Navy launches into cargo boats for use on the remote outer is-lands and, in his spare time, starting a new business by im-porting merchandise from Ha-waii through a friend who had earlier worked at the Kwajalein base.

In 1950, the Navy rnovcJ Reimers anu the boat pool op-eration to Majuro, which marked the launching of his current mega-business, starting from a 20 foot-by-20 foot building that he and his family lived in.

In 1970 Reimers opened what was, by standards of the time, a huge grocery and retail store.

The store included Majuro's first large freezers, making it possible for Robert Reimers En-terprises, as it began to be called, to begin importing frozen chicken, ice cream and other frozen goods_

One of his early innovations that allowed his store to leap beyond other local businesses was his realization of the value

of expatriate managers. He was the first local busi-

nessman to bring in an Ameri-can manager in the mid- I 960s, and continued relying on expa-triate managers ever since.

He understood the value of having a non-Marshallese man-ager as a buffer between him and his large extended fami\v of re \atives ~o that he could build the business while still main-taining goou relations with his many relatives.

Reimers' groundbreaking business initiatives extended beyond the retail level.

In the mid- l 980s, he began investing in a clam farm, wl1ich today remains the only privately operated clam farm in the Pa-cific region.

By 1995, RRE began export-ing clams to the United States, a business that it has continued to build.

Reimers is survived by Lupe, his wife of 68 years; seven chil-dren: Richard, Francis, Vincent, Ramsey, Minna, Ronnie and Reico, and hundreds of grand-, great-grand and great-greatgrandchildren.

~riana, Ph: 234-5424 / Fax: 234-5740 - - (:?e1ec1ronics email: mespn@usa.net

# Why buy yesterday's technology, when you can have the new 'ii' iMac. Up to twice as fast as a Pentium IL We have the iMac in stock, for now anyway! They are going fast! Complete systems

AU1honzed Rescuer with color printer available NOW'

Website: http://www.mespn.com/me/

I , __ '.J Use your tax rebate check towarrds a down payment on any new Hyundai and we'll match it with a rebate check of up to $1,500!*

AND NO 1,00' S Dollars

c;ovtRNrt£N1',----

1998 Sonata GL

•on approval of credit

EXTENDED THROUGH OCTOBER

31ST!

1998 Sonata GLS 1998 Accent

R 1:!!~~~D~R~P2!~~ Garapan 234-7133 • Used Car Mart 235-5012

14-MARIANAS VARIETY NEWS AND VIEWS-THURSDAY- OCTOBER. I . 1998 -~-~~-~---~--------------------·------ T Estrada backs strike ban in key industries MANILA (Reuters)-Philippine President Joseph EstrJda on Tues-day backed a proposal in Congress to ban strikes in key industJies on tl1e eve of a union vote that will decide if flag cru1ier Philippine Airlines (PAL) would fly again.

··1.un in favour of that because if we me in ,m economic crisis the wholenationisaffected.1l1at · ,why we need a momtorium on stJikes," Estrada told repolters.

A legislator filed a bill in tl1e House ;fRepresentatives on Mon-day calling for a bm1 on sllikes mlll lockouL~ in indusuics involved in uw1spo11ation, communication, power. water, food mid housing during times of economic crisis and national emergencies.

ll1e bill was spuned by the clo-sun~ of PAL. which had been r~iv-

Joseph Estrada

aged by fimmcial losses and labour conflicts.

The airline, which owes $2.0 bil-lion to fon:ign and domestic credi-tors. r~ceived a new lease on life on Tuesday when union officials ac-

cepted a management offer of a 20 percent equity and a minority seat on the PAL board in exchange for a I 0-year freeze on labour bargaining.

The agiecmem is to be submitted to6,000union members on Wednes-day for ratification. If rejected the airline would close, PAL officials said.

The agreement has diiven a 1ift among union members. Although a majority of its officers endorsed it, a hardline group in a protest rally out-side the labour dep:uunent violently denounced the accord, calling it a sell-out.

111e protesters, numbering about 100, shouted expletives at labour of-ficials ru1d called for a boycott of Wednesday's vote.

E,trada said tl1e rntification meet-ing was a mere formality because the

union leaders had already accepted management's offer.

"This is the best thing that can ever happen to our labour," the president said.

"They wi II be given membership in the audit committee so they can audit the income of PAL ... They will share (in) the profit ... I don't knowwhysomcofthemdon'rwmit to accept it."

PAL's shutdown has forced the government, throughaholdingfirm, to enter into an interim deal with Hong Kong's Catl1ay Pacific Air-ways Ltd to fly domestic routes on a charter basis.

EstradahassaidCathayandotl1er foreign airlines have expressed in-terest in buying into PAL and that tl1e airline might end up being man-aged by one of them.

SIA to resume Manila fare discounts SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Singapore Airlines (SIA) Ltd said on Tuesday it was reinstating dis-counted fares on its Singapore-Manila service with immediate effect.

It said in a statement the disounted air fares applied to tick-ets sold in Singapore.

Last week, after Philippine Air-lines closed, SIA said it would no longer offer discounted market fares on the Singapore-Manila route and that published fares would generally apply.

But it said it made an exception on maid's fares, which continued to be offered at a special low rate because so many of them were employed by Singaporeans obliged to pay for the ticket at the end of a standard two-year maid contract.

The airline said later that other fares on the route were under re-

Continued on page 22

Manila council votes to ban Claire Danes' movies \1A;',;ILA, Philippines (AP) -Manila's city council voted 23-3 Tuesday in favor of a resolution banning the movies of Hollywood actress Claire Danes because of reported statements in which she disparaged the city.

"She is declared persona non grata. All her films will be banned," said councilor Kim

Fresh New Zealand

Atienza, the principal sponsor of the resolution and a son of Manila's mayor.

"We are a very hospitable people, but we cannot accept irre-sponsible sweeping statements from irresponsible actresses," he said.

Danes, who appeared in the movies "Romeo and Juliet,"

"Little Women," and "The Rain-maker," was in Manila for several weeks early this year to shoot scenes for the movie "Brokedown Palace."

Most of the sequences shot in Manila were done inside a dilapi-dated psychiatric hospital.

Atienza earlier said the coun-cilors had dismissed comments

:7:~_,,, ~. · .. ('.7' !~C [ tf:

::.- ··~-:··-r.: 'I J. '' . \ -.::.:.>, ~j 1.-.::\

Ms. Danes made in Vogue maga-zine in April describing Manila as a"ghastly and weirdcity"as "mere irresponsible statements of youth."

But the actress went "over-board" in a recent interview with Premiere magazine by saying Manila "smelled of cockroaches, with rats all over and that there is

Island Fiesta Bldg. Susupe • Tel. 235-1492 • Fax 235-1493 • OPEN 7:30 AM - 9:00 PM Daily

Sale Period October 1 to 7 '98 New from New Zealand

KING SALMON or steaks Fresh yellow fin

TUNA KING SALMON WOOD ROASTED

red delicious

APPLES

U.S. Valencia

ORANGES

79,ii1

sashimi

c'.749 lh.

U.S. green

200 gram

pack _;799

Better Buy Americanr

chilled CHEESE r ,..,,,-,,.. s 195 I'. :.i''t t..:. 1::.,.1 ~ t.

16 slices$ ,79 r.,;;r:~ .. ,~.rw 1 !~ \~ ~:.:.:>' '..::: ·LI C a .

no sewerage system and the people do not have anything -no arms, no legs, no eyes," he said.

"Definitely her statements in-su It us and make us lose visi-tors.

That is unacceptable,'' Atienza said.

~c-o-n~u-n-u-ed~o-n_p_a_g_e~2~2

PRIME RIB ---- r ) STEAK or ~49'\ ROAST ~~

Danish frozen l O lb. box PORK ;::;;EG. SPARE RIBS I 1995

1::.n,:"1,\:.r:: s 1599 d \_", \~:-~~ ,:, ~.:

Top Japan defense official is demoted TOKYO (AP) - In a largely symbolic gesture of contrition, a top Japanese defense official was demoted Tuesday to take respon-sibility for a scandal centered around overpayment for military equipment.

The scandal has led to the ar-rests of two former senior De-fense Agency officials as well as nine executives and senior offi-cials at major Japanese electron-ics maker NEC Corp. and its af-filiate, Toyo Communication Equipment Co.

They are suspected of arrang-ing a reduction in reimbursement to the Defense Agency for the

purchase of military equipment in return for plush jobs at the affiliate for retiring defense offi-cials.

Masayuki Fujishima, director of the Secretariat at the agency, was demoted to counselor, De-fense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters. The Secretariat's director acts as a coordinator on defense matters. His post is one of the highest at the agency.

The Defense Agency also de-moted two deputy heads at its central procurement office.

Fujishima was among several agency officials who were ques-

tioned by prosecutors earlier this month on suspicion of allegedly burning or hiding agency docu-ments that were key evidence in the scandal.

Also Tuesday, Nukaga told a parliamentary committee that the agency will ask the NEC affiliate to return the overcharge to the agency. Prosecutors say it totals nearly 1.7 billion yen ($12.5 mil-lion).

The key figure in the scandal is Kenichi Ueno, former deputy di-rector of procurement at the agency, who was arrested Sept. 3 on suspicion of conspiring with others to trim the reimbursement.

Report says Japan criticized U.S. over Pentagon security mishap

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's top government spokesman criti-cized the United States on Tues-day for its handling of an acci-dent at the Pentagon in which Japan's defense minister was slightly injured, a news report · said.

"The cause (of the accident) still has not been made clear, and those involved haven't been · dealt with," K yodo News agency quoted_ Chief Cabinet Secretary

[;m.JL

Hiromu Nonaka as telling a Cabi-net meeting.

Defense Agency Director Gen-eral Fukushiro Nukaga injured hls ankle Sept 21 when his limousine slammed into a security barricade that popped up as his motorcade en-tered the grounds of the Pentagm

'The defense minister "is the man responsible for the security of an entire nation, and the incident oc-curred on route to official talks. Something should be done under

We .uaµ: f VISA j (,'II·] t~= • NAP FOOD STAMPS

these circumstances," Nonaka was quoted as saying.

The U.S. Defense Department has said it would investigate to find out what caused the barrier to unexpectedly pop up.

Rveothers inthecm-withNukaga were also injured in the accident All were treated and released from a local hospital.

A Cabinet spokesman was un-able to confirm the reported re-marks.

, CNMI Senior Citizens Discount Card

Frozen

SHRIMP 16/20 Head On 16 oz. box

Takai Bank President Hideo Ogasawara (right) and Asahi Bank Pres,~ dent Tatsuro ltoh shake hands as they announce the two banks' alliance at the Bank of Japan in Tokyo Monday. The two midsize Japanese city banks intend to cooperate in private banking, investment trusts and the launch of financial products, such as derivatives. The announcement came amid ongoing coso/idation in Japan's financial sector ahead of the intoduction of the "big bang" measures. AP

_F

\ . . ' ... , ...... l}, . L. i \ S'-.: ·. (.r.t: "'~., . ' \.'LJ .. ·.,,~>

"'.:.::..--:::·.::::. __ ·.

Frozen MILKFISH

any size

,799 any size

Certified Angus Chilled

BONELESS BEEF BRISKET

Farmers RICE Enriched Special Blend

Stock up for holidays

Concord sweet

GRAPE WINE s499

750 ml. ,..__....-"'I PAUL'S MILK

:1199 libby's VIENNA SAUSAGE

9 oz. can

179

1sg

red seedless U.S. Cello

CARROTS S & W Fine Foods • This Week Special All Kitchen 5 gal. size VEGETABLE OIL ! TH~SIOfUP, ;

Del Monte 28 oz. bott

KETCHUP GRAPES

-24~ U.S. Ce\lo

LETTUCE

99~;h

791, ,, U.S. fresh

TOMATOES

s19.9 •11 '1,1.

VINEGAR • RED WINE HERB •TARRAGON • WHITE WINE & HERB • FISH & CHIPS • REDWINE • RASPBERRY BLUSH

Charmin 12 roll pack BATHROOM

TISSUE ~·::J(i'.'»11:;19 REG.

:", ::c ..:, : 2095 I 1!§9

s 19~:. Huggies Supreme

DIAPERS sizes 3,4 & 5

16-MARlANAS V ARlETY NEWS AND VlJ;,WS-THURSDA Y · OCTOBER._ __ L,_l_9_9_8

war pleads in11ocent By JOCELYN GECKER

KUALA LU:.\1PUR, Malaysia (AP)- Malaysia's ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. pleaded innocent Tuesday to nine charges of com1ption and illegal sex acts and claimed he was beaten

Anwar, who, according to a law-yer, had visible bmises from police violence, made the plea after being brought toacom1houseem·ly in the mrn,;im! for the be!l:inning of what could i;; a landma7·k leg,71 case in this Southeast Asian nation.

A defense lawyer said the 51--

year-old politician had asked the court for an independent medical examination.

A11Wm· replied, "Not guilty, I claim trial," as each charge was read out before Judge Hasnah Hashim.

He has contended that the chm·ges severelv in detention.

. TATION FOR BIDS . . ·. · ·DPW98-IFB--036 . · .

. · · September 24,' i998 . . · ' . . •, ' .

L,o\'cmor Y'ec\rn r. lcnono and Lt. C,,wernm Jesus R. Sablan, throu!!,h the Dqiattmcnt of Pubhc \Yorks lDP\\'), in wordination \\'ith the Ma\'or of Rota arc so\i(iting. scakd l,ids for the Renovation of the Rao l\!an Amko Building on the island of Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern l\fariana Islands. The Magm-tude of this proje(t is between Sl00,000.00 and S250,000.00.

An original and three copies of scaled bids must be submitted to the Ortic( ?f the Director, Division of Procurement and Supplv, Lower Base, Saipan, no later than 10:00 a.m. local nmc, Monday, October 26, I 998, at which time and place the bids will be publicly opened.

A Bid Bond of fifteen percent ( l 5%) of the total bid amount must aecompanv the bid. This security may be certified d1eck, cashier's check, or Bid Bond. Checks must be made payable to the CNMI Treasurer, with a notation on the face of the check, "Credit Acwunt No. 44660". Bid Bond must be issued by a CNMI

appron:d smet)'.

The specifications, dra\\'ings, and bid documents arc available on or after Tuesday, September 29, 1998 at the office of Minoncsia Design Group & Associates, San Jose, Saipan. A cost of two hundred fifi:y dollars (USS2:'i0.00) is required for ead1 set. Payment must be made to Micronesia Design Group & Associates when a(quiring. the proiect do(uments.

A l're-l'>id conti:rcncc \

si:,;c;APO RE (.·\PJ-Sing:tporc' c,HHinucd !() cxpc·r·i.:ncc slc:rdily di . .'d inin~ [ouris,11 :md h11.-.:inc:,;s \. i:,;-it.,. \\'i I h .:\ugu,t's atTi1 :ds I I. 7 pcr-c·c111 do11·11 from the s:tmc 111011th last vcar.

Visitor all'ival,; for the whole year ,kc\incd I 6.\\ percent over the first ciS'.hl months of \ 997. re:1c\1ing -\~\ ,t ) . ..\\\.the ·r"uri,m Boar,\ ,;ai,1 in :t rcprn1 TucsLLty.

Buckins1 the trend were ,·isitors fr()lll Chi1;:1. mmt ofthcm on holi-dav. Almost 31.000 a!1'ivcd in Au-gu;t. a 5-+ pcrcent increasc over the same month last year.

mcstic output. The three packagc.s together

will reduce "-ovemmcntoutbys b\· I billio1; N?. do\\ars ($500 n~i\\'ton)mcrthe next two years.

·111c latest spc.nding cuts come Jays aftcr figures showed the cc~nomy officially in recession ;md U.S.creditagency Moody's Investor Services downgraded New Zealand's credit rating from Aa I to Aa2, the same level as Australi:1 and Canada.

Among the latest measures arc redu;tions in sociul spend-ing on pensions, a move to eliminate all import tariffs by

"The United Kingdom re-mained the bright spot among major long haul markets." the Tourism Board said. reporting: a 1-+.5 percent increase in British visitors in August since last sum-mer. However, there were fowcr \:,usiness tral'c.kr, among those _',:',_\l\10 arri\·ing Britons. the board ,,1 icl.

Indonesia demands banks repay loans in cash The biggc,t petTentage drops

hy country were for Malaysia. with 26.5 percent fcwcr 1·isitor ,uTi\·:ds. and T:1iw:tn \\'ith almost 2-+ pc'l'l'ellt 1·c11 er.

The number ut· Jap,mcse l'isi-t,)rs Jcclincd by 18 pcrccnt. al-!hough that left 90.00011 ho came.

1',forc th:ui 76.000 lndoncsians ,tlso ani,·cJ in ,\ugust. a 16.2 per-cent decline O\Cr last year.

The; Tourism BoccrJ ,e1i,\ '2Cll-nlwn\l: "'·...:aKnc~'>~~ \nTa,wan. ~/\a-bysia :md lndon.:sia accounted for the rc:duced number of tra\ clcrs.

JAKARTA,lndonesia(AP)-1l1c Indonesian ~ovcmment is Jermmd-inl! that the former owners of insol-\ e~1t lxmks ri:pay billions of dollars in emers1e11cv kxu1s from the central b:mk in ca~h not ,L,scLs, Fin:mce Min-ister Bamb.u1g Subi.u1to said Tucs-da\'.

Speaking after meeting Pri:sidcnt B.J. Habibic ,md oilier senior eco-nomic ministers. Barnb,mg said the O\\'ncrs of th~ hanks had lX!cn ~iv~n ,mother nmnlh tu come up wit\1 ways of paying.

·111c government h;L, ,L,kcd them

About 1,000 labors stage a protest rally outside the East Java parlia-ment building in Surabaya, Indonesia Tuesday against the usual military intervention in the labor disputes. The laborers demanded the government to lower the price of skyrocketing food prices and raising the worker' wages. AP

to solve this problem ,md sell their ,L'iSCL, so they Gm pay in cash." Bamb,mg told repor,ers af,cr meet-ing witJ1 Pn,sident B.J. lfabibie.

~1l1ey haw one month to provide proposals on how they're going to pay," he said.

B,m1lxmg wasrefening to l 4b,mks closed ortaken over by the st.ate.1l1ey include PT Bank Umun1 Nasional, which is p,ut-controlled by a close associ,11c:offonnc1·P11.:siJcn1 Suh,uto. Moh,m1ad "Bob" Ha.s.u1.

1l1e central bank, B,mk Indonesia. injected liquidity into the b.mks to offset the worst economic c1isis in tJ11i:e decades.

However, the government later shut them down as p,ut of sweeping eco-nomic rcfrnrns.

111e government originally gave banks until Sept. 2 l to repay the state. The owners of PT Bank Central Asia, the banking mrn of the Salim Group, ,md PT Bank Dagang Nasional Indo-nesia have already n::ached agree-ment with the government to pay back $7 billion in the form of asseL,. cash and prope1ty.

Afterthe deadline passed, the gov-ernment said that other b:mks' own-ers who hadn't reached agreement could foce civil or criminal proceed-ings.

Some banke1, haveoffe,cd to hm1d over their assets in lieu of c,L,h pay-ment. However, the government says the b,mkers have grossly overesti-mated the worth of mru1y of the as-set,.

Japan's Nippon Steel to stop semiconductor chip making

TOKYO (Al') - Nippon Steel C01p. said T utsday it will witl1-drnw from semiconductorchippro-duction and sell all of its 56 percent stake in its semiconductor subsid-iary to a Taiwanese electronics group.

At a news conference, Nippon Steel P1csident Akira Chihaya said the steep Jrop in semiconductor prices over the past year prompted the company to sell its semicon-ductorunit to Taiwan's United Mi-croelectronics Corp. group.

TheJ apanese steelmaker will sell its 30,560 shares in Nippon Steel Semiconductor Co1p. for 50,000 yen ($370) each, a total of 1.53 billionyen($11.3million),thecorn-pany said.

Theu-ansactionwillbecompleted by Dec. 15, it said.

United Microelecuunics said it foresees growth potential in Japan for integrated circuit design com-panies that have manufacturing done elsewhere, as is the case in the United States.

The Taiwanese group expects its takeoverofNippon Steel Semicon-ductor will help it tap the market.

United Micrcx:lecuunic has a

dedicated wafer found1y service and otl1er semiconductor-idated businesses. "01e group said in a statement that the infusion of it, technology and foundry manage-ment know-how into Nippon Steel Semiconductor will enable the group to capture an early lead in the foundry market in Japan.

Nippon Steel will post a spe-cial parent loss of about 120 billion yen ($890 million) be-cause of Nippon Steel Semi-conductor borrowings it has guaranteed and as it writes off loans to the unit and liquid(ltes another chip-making unit.

About 85 billion yen ($630 million) of the special parent loss will be posted in the first half of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Nippon Steel said there is no change to its parent earnings forecast as the special loss will be covered by the sale of assets.

On Sept. 4, Nippon Steel said it expects a parent net profit of between 5 billion and 15 billion yen ($37 million and $110 mil-lion) this year on sales of 2.03 trillion yen ($15 billion).

B.J. Habibie

'1l1i s h,L, to be worked out because the government is badly in need of c,L,h," he said.

.'South Korea · _:reports ~urrent -i~t~

20-J\L\RL\N,\S \':\RIETY NEWS AND VJE\_\'S:TlW~-SQt-_y_:_Q_CJTJB_!:R_.__l_,J_29_~--- -·----~-- - Parti~s-all_fi_lg-h-ting on over Starr evidence

By LAURIE KELLMAN WASHINGTON (AP)-As the last evidence from Independent Counsel Kenneth Stan· is readied for public release, Republicans on the House Judiciary Commit-tee are trying to build goodwill with Democrats in advance of next week's vote on an impeachment inquiry.

' .-:~ The armed services joint chiefs wait for the slc;rt of the Sena/~ Armed Services CommJttee Tuesday .in washingron. From left: Army Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, Navy Admiral Jay L. Johnson, Chairman of the Jami Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry H. Shelton, and Gen. Michael E. Ryan USAF. AP

"We are trying to accommo-date them," the committee'schair-man, Rep. Henry Hyde, an lllinois Republican, told reporters on Mon-day, saying he was considering gnmt-ing such Democratic demands as the power to subpoena witnesses and document, concerning the Monica Lewinsky affair.

At the White House on Mon-day, spokesman Mike McCu1Ty said officials there were waiting to see if Hyde followed up on his promises.

US Iawntakers plan IDilitary aid for Saddam.'s enem.ies

putes over the policy. By Jackie Frank

\\'ASHl;\GTO\ tReutcr~l -\\' 1u, Iraq ,t:mding f1mi again,t U.N. "~apon, ins1~ctions. key U.S. law-rn:1kerssa1c.lonTl1esday they intended \c, offer rniliLu-:,· aid to foes of h~tqi kac.lerSe1ddam I lus-;.:in \\·itl1 th.: goal 01· b1in!'.in!'. him Jown.

"Sin;pl; put. Sade.lam must go:· Hou,;c Intemational Rdations Com-mittee chai1man !kn G1lm:m said a., he inunJuced a bill to pnwidc S97 million in n1ilit:uY aid to 1.knmcratic or,poncnt., of SaJ,bm ', g1.wem111ent. He said it \\'Oulu "Jinally :md im,vo-cabk' commit \he l.'nitcd Sates tn the O\"i..~{1..hrow c..)f S·.v..kbrn.

··\\'..: "''1"u\1...\ \1~1,('. ~\ d\n:i.. .. :l. ac\\,·e. own ,uppo11 l)f 1\ic oppusition that \\ ,iuld k:1d tPthc 1cmoval of Saddam ! lu"cin from offi,\: ... Senate '.\lajllr-ity Leader Tn:nl Lott. a ;\ 1ississippi Republican. told rcponcr,.

Lott :uid Gilman ha\·c l~cn amo11>2 those mn,\ critical ufwhat thcv h,1\·,: ,:,id\\,,, ,1 wc:1k ( ·tinton :1dmini,1r:1-t1< m 1~. ,Ji,·, , m Iraq anJ "' ,n ,q,pn ,, :ti , i S21 I rn Ji Ii, m in n, ,,1-1111 Ii 1:11~. :1i,J to ~:J : 1.1-S: l1...kLu1~ l ::·~:tni .... ~1Li t )11:-, l,,'.: 1r·1 i1...·r tJ 1 i '.'-\ L' :ir . .. It h 1111JL' [1 1 11:i-1\l.' lx;\ond j-diti,·:il suppn11 l

.,.-

22-MARlANAS VARIET'(_NE:_'v'IS_AflD_VIE"Y_S_:THUR~D_A_}'- OCTOBER0_l, 19.=-:9..c..8 __ ~ · -- ·.-1 Logarta also said the council SIA to Mam a . . . has n'o authority to ban movie~. • • •

Continued from page 14 unlike the Movie and Telev1- Continued from page 14

But councilor Julio Logarta. one of the three who votcJ against the resolution. said the b7m was a curtailment of the freedom of expression.

"Anv visitor to this country can rn·:1ke comments. positive orne!!ati\'c. ·· Logarta said. "This n:sol~tion is in fact abridging her ri!!hts. Mosr of what she said is· true."

>'I +' Q) ·-.. ~ Cl)

.s:::. ..... --ta (.)

sion Review and Classification Board, which is in charge of rating and approving motion pic-tures.

Ms. Danes· reported comments have also been widely debated in newspaper columns and editorial pages, with some newspapers cas-ti i!,llin~ the actress and others say-in~• rhe- citv council should clean u/ Manili instead of criticizing the remarks.

~ = 00 0 QJ .... s 0 0 = ..c::

·a5 Q. C .c 0

0..

0 ·c 0 0 ~

.£ 'D C 0 :J 0 0

0..

~ (l) +:

::::J 0 >-c 0 E C

>-·a 'D 'D ::D +-:::::i .D ·;::: +-U)

'B • !£2

3 0 C .... Q)

. Q.

0 Q.

3 Q)

z .c Q)

g U)

0 C 0

·;:::

0 ~

I LET us KEEP CNMI LITTER FREE. • • ,• ....................... ~·-·-· .................. ' •• ' ....... , •••••.. ~.,r ..... ., ,r ............. " .. .

view. "Having reviewed the overall

market conditions, and in view of an anticipated increase in seat capacity, we have decided, for the present, to reinstate the discounted market fares that applied before 23 September," Huang Cheng

Pick-up.~ . Continued from page 6

According to the Attorney General's ~Office, the man struck his 13-year old stepson

GVB ... Continued from page 6

uct Seminar in New Caledonia in lateJuly.

• The Outbound Travel Fair in Taipei, held Aug. 8-11.

• The Weddex Promotion, also held in August, in Seoul, Korea.

And mo;e recently, the Korea Outbound Tour Fair in September.

Upcoming promotions include the Incentive Travel and Coiiven-tion Meetings Asia Trade show in Malaysia and the World Travel Fair in Tokyo slatedfornext month.

GVB 's Guam Big Summer Fes-tival and Golf Campaign officially endedyesterday to be followed by the Guam WinterCampaign which will nmuntil the end of the year.

Tliere are two promotions that comprise thewintercampaign. One is the Love Christmas Campaign that is gearedtowards the office lmlieslyoung market.

DLNR. . . Continued from page 6 . .

to the Minachom Atdao Pavilion. The ceremony will start at 9

a.m. Activities are in store for Ar-

bor month which includes tree planting on schools, and other or!!anizations.

~Jowever. people should plant a 1rce as often as they can, and not necessarily only on Arbor Month .

Underwood Continued from page 5

Virginlslands, American Samoa, the CNMI, and the Freely Associ-ated States."

The third provision specific to Guam would provide for the continuationof the Pell Grant for FAS students until the year 2004 pcndingrenegotiation of the Com-pacts of Free Association.

The resolution alsoincreases the grant maximum award amount from $3,000to$4,500, andwithin two years reduces the student loan rate.

Guam Community College President John Cruz and Univer-sity of Guam VicePresident of Student Affairs Richard Wyttenbach-Santos worked closelywith Underwoodis office to solidify provisions on the reso-lution.

In 1990, the U.S. government issued a deed to GCC for about 314.28 acresof federal surplus property on which to build a new

Encr Senior Vice President for ma~keting planning, said in the statement.

Reports last week that SIA h,'.d doubled fares and ended the maid discount as "a business decision in view of the squeeze on seats," dismayed many travellers, espe-cially Filipina maids.

SIA said the discounted market fare for a return economy class excursion ticket to Manila was

in November of last year after the boy, who had no keys with him, damaged a window while breaking into their house.

Assistant Public Defender Dan Bowen, who represented the defendant, told the court that

Ami Suzuki and TK have onceagain joined in the promo-tional efforts of selling Guam