Guam – The Guam Ancestral Lands Commission Wednesday talked about their concerns over the military’s plans for to take Pagat and the Rt.15 area as a firing range complex.
Ancestral lands commissioners are worried that the military’s plans will include land under the purview of the Ancestral Lands Commission.
The commission discussed two announcements one from Adelup saying that Pagat village would not be impacted and one from the legislature saying that the plans for the firing range remain the same.
“The front office is saying that it’s completely off the table but saying it as we’re hearing it it’s not they’re still going to occupy Pagat but the position of our people the so called local indigenous people is that we don’t want to give any of that part any of Pagat at all,” said Ron Laguana.
GALC commissioner James Matanane also chimed in saying, “We have a responsibility in turning that property into a revenue generating property for all the people that didn’t receive the land and now if they are going to arbitrarily take it away are we gonna sit still we have a responsibility here to the people that didn’t get their land back.”
Commissioners also noted that some of the land in the Pagat and Rt.15 area is property that lawmakers have given to original landowners from Tiyan as part of a land swap.
