by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - Senator Ben Pangelinan wants a legal opinion on whether the Chamorro Land Trust Commission can legally trade payments due for unauthorized use of CLTC property with surveying services. The request to the attorney general has stalled Tonko Reyes, Inc.'s plans to survey a million square meters of land in Dededo that would allow for hundreds of lots to be subdivided and distributed to those who are waiting for a CLTC lot.

Back in December the company agreed to survey the land in exchange for using Commission property as a staging area for its nearby housing development project.

Land Management director Monte Mafnas told KUAM News, "It's in abeyance, it still made it at this point in time but clearly we must adhere to the checks and balances, we must adhere and confirm to lawful administration and legal conformity."

Mafnas welcomes Pangelinan's concerns and is in the process of issuing a request for proposal from the General Services Agency for legal services.