(President Remengesau to Sign it on Monday)
IN A PUBLIC comment today, President Remengesau, Jr.,
expressed that he will be signing the bill creating a Belau Submarine Cable
Corporation into law on Monday, September 21, 2015. He expressed his gratitude
to all that worked toward making this very important bill become a reality.
Belau
Submarine Cable Corporation took center stage in the political arena for the
past eight months with majority block of the Senate, and EPUI Committee chaired
by Senator Joel Toribiong holding on to the bill, citing a need for further
study.
The
bill become a topic of public debate on various forums, from coffee shops, to
social media, to radio talk shows and to public conferences, with majority of
the people showing support for the bill.
Timing
and funding were two major factors inciting the debate. Timing due to the
funding agency’s (Asian Development Bank) loan timetable, which is set for
review and approval in December and the SEA-US Cable project’s commitment
timeline, which was extended to the end of this month, September 30.
SEA-US
Cable, a consortium of telephone companies laying state-of-the-art submarine fiber
optic cable to Guam from Indonesia and passing close to Palau, has offered an
opportunity to Palau to join in but gave Palau a deadline to commit to the
project “Funding through ADB is contingent upon fiber optic cable and internet
service provision management. .. be by a
wholly separate entity and not PNCC”, according to the Conference Committee
Report.
Senate
passed on September 9, their version of the House Bill 9-163-16S, HD3, SD3,
CDI, which deleted the Belau Submarine Cable Corporation as the authority to own and manage the fiber cable project and
transferred the authority to Palau National Telecommunications Corporation
(PNCC).
It
went beyond fiber optic to expand the role of PNCC to permit and regulate all
other telecom providers in Palau. House rejected the Senate’s version and bill
went to Conference Committee, made up of the Senate EPUI Committee members,
Senator Joel Toribiong, Senator Mark Rudimch, Senator Mlib Tmetuchl, Senator
Philip Reklai and Senator Mason Whipps and House Committee of the Whole which
included all members of the House.
The
report from the Conference Committee retained Senate version and the members
that signed the report included Senators Joel Toribiong and Mark Rudimch, and
Mlib Tmetuchl. Senator Philip Reklai signed with reservations and Senator Mason
Whipps did not sign.
House
members of the Committee all did not sign except for Delegate Mario Gulibert.
With this, the report was not adopted and was referred back to both Houses.
During
Senate Sessions on September 15th to discuss the bill, Senator
Surangel Whipps, Jr. made a motion to create a new committee to deal with the
matter since the first committee failed.
The
committee was made up of Senators Rukebai Inabo, Raynold Oilouch, Philip
Reklai, Uduch Sengebau Senior, Mason Whipps, Surangel Whipps, Jr. and was
chaired by Senator Hokkons Baules.
The
new Senate Committee joined the House Committee of the Whole and they approved
the original version of the bill, reinstating the BSCC as the authority to own,
manage and procure fiber optic cable to Palau.
The
new draft also reinstated other important parts of the bill including having
the Minister of Finance as the initial incorporator of this corporation.
This
means that the work on the financing and contracting can begin immediately
while new board members are still going through the appointment and approval
process so that the project timetables can be met.
Also
restored is the language that states that this will not be issuing stocks but
“provided that in 10 years the government may consider privatizing this
corporation or establishing a public-private partnership.
The
bill added appropriation of $410,000 to secure Palau’s interest in the fiber
optic submarine cable. This would enable Palau to secure its interest on the
SEA-US Cable project.
This
new Conference Committee version of SB 9-163 was signed by all the members of
the committee of both Houses.
After
heated contest in the Senate by original Committee members, Senator
Hokkons Baules, Senator Rukebai Inabo,
Senator Uduch Sengebau Senior, Senate President Camsek Chin, Senator Mason
Whipps, Senator Philip Reklai and Senator Surangel Whipps, Jr. adopted the
Conference Committee Report and voted to accept the bill.
The bill is set to become law on
September 21, 2015 upon signing by President Tommy Remengesau, Jr.
THE OEK in one session day passes 2 major pieces of legislation with the approval of the milestone Belau Submarine Cable Corporation and the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget.
The chances for Palau to acquire an undersea fiber optic cable moves us closer to reality following the Obiil Era Kelulau's approval of the bill to establish the Belau Submarine Cable Corporation (BSCC) on September 15. President Remengesau is expected to sign the bill early next week.
The bill, HB No. 9-163-16S, HD3, SD3, CD1 cleared OEK after one of the biggest policy battles of this Ninth Constitutional Government with bill's senate opposition putting
Sources: Island Times Newspaper
Pages 1 & 10
Volume 10
No. 91
Friday
September 18, 2015
Tia Belau Newspaper
Pages 1 & 11
Volume 24
Issue 75
September 17, 2015
