Guam News - Guam News

Guam - Land  Management Director Monte Mafnas,  and Governor Eddie Calvo Tuesday defended the Chamorro Land Trust Commission and said a Department of Justice investigation is  unjustified.

The DOJ investigation is an out-growth of a complaint Yigo resident Dave Davis filed 3 years ago with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Davis protested after his residential lease application with the CLTC was denied because he didn't meet the definition of a native chamorro.

Justice says they're investigation is aimed at determining whether the CLTC discriminates on the basis of race in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

Mafnas told PNC News he welcomes the probe. And he will fully co-operate. But he "firmly believes " that the CLTC is constitutional and organic. And he points out that the CLTC doesn't get an HUD money and doesn't build low income housing.

The Commission, he says, grants agricultural and residential leases to anyone who was living, or is a decendant of someone who was living on Guam in August 1950, no matter what their ethnicity.

Governor Eddie Calvo also defended the Land Trust program,  saying the Justice Department investigation is targeting some of the island's most needy and Justice would be better off investigating something else.

I firmly believe that Chamorro Land Trust is constitutional and organic.  For the record; anyone living on Guam prior to August 1950, is considered a "Native Chamorro".

Based on this provision, CLTC does not discriminate other than ethnicity (provided birth certificates are submitted to prove eligibility.)

I'm not a lawyer, but, I do believe that Senator Paul Bordallo (a Harvard Graduate and father of a lawyer), had done his due diligence in discussing these points of authority, before mandates were incorporated.

In all sincerity, CLTC has and continues to comply with the law.

Si Yu'us ma'ase,
Monte

P. S. CLTC was mirrored from Department of Hawaiian Homelands; for now I'll let the legal system take it's course.