The evolving landscape of Guam business sector activism
- Admin
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Guam’s business community is marking its presence in the election process now more than ever, abandoning its typical reticence. The Guam Chamber of Commerce has adopted a more activist stance amid growing dissatisfaction with government missteps, misspending, and policies it believes stunt economic development.
In the past seven years, the chamber had been at odds with the administration as it fought aggressively for a rollback of the business privilege tax.
The government raised the BPT from 5 percent to 4 percent in 2018 to bridge a revenue shortfall created by the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. What was designed as a six-month stopgap measure lingered for seven years before the Republican-led legislature eventually cut it back to 4 percent.
“We really want the BPT to go down. We think it's very important for the entire island of Guam. Our economy is very fragile at this moment,” said Catherine Castro, chamber president. “More money will be circulating and the government of Guam will get more money in the long run.”
“We really want the BPT to go down. We think it's very important for the entire island of Guam. Our economy is very fragile at this moment,” said Catherine Castro, chamber president. “More money will be circulating and the government of Guam will get more money in the long run.”
The chamber has traditionally shunned politics and business mixing, but over the years, it has faced pressure to assume a role as a watchdog.
In a recent statement, the chamber demanded that the government of Guam put its fiscal house in order, citing the Office of Public Accountability’s report, which flagged late audits, missing reports, unanswered requests for financial data and a lack of transparency.
“The government of Guam has an accountability problem, and it goes deeper than paperwork,” the chamber said. “It is a pattern that warrants serious attention.”
In this year’s gubernatorial race, the chamber has a laundry list of issues it hopes candidates will heed. At the top of the list is improving Guam’s business climate and streamlining the permitting process.
Guam has been trying to woo investment, but Castro said the process is marred by roadblocks that scare off potential investors. “How do we make it easier for people to establish businesses here?” she asked. “If it takes nine months, a year or two years to get a permit, you know, these folks are going to spend their millions of dollars someplace else.”
She suggested leveraging technology to expedite the processing of business applications.
The chamber also monitors the government's chaotic procurement process that stalls public projects and services and leaves contracts in limbo. “How are we cleaning up our ability to support businesses as far as procurement?” Castro asked.
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It is imperative for Guam leaders to “pay attention to all these small little things that matter to how people do business here,” the chamber president said.
Guam’s often-abandoned infrastructure, against the backdrop of a bloated government budget, is another area that frustrates the business sector.
“Look at the roads, the parks, the public bathrooms. We can go on and on about the graffiti on the roads,” Castro said. “These are things that our visitors talk to us about when they leave or they put on social media posts.”
Maintenance of public infrastructure has not been a priority of the administration, she said. “That is unacceptable. These are the things that we have a disagreement on in reference to the current administration. This is not just for the tourism industry; this is for everybody.”
On June 24 and 25, the chamber held a two-part gubernatorial forum, where Republican and Democratic candidates seeking to govern the island faced the business community and took the “job interview.”
“Well, I think you know what the business community is looking for: we want a candidate who is pro-business and pro-economy.”
While the chamber will not endorse any gubernatorial team, Castro said it will release a scorecard to determine who meets the criteria and qualifications for the island’s top job.
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