WITH reimbursements from the federal government, the Commonwealth has been slowly paying down its debts, Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig told the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday. He said in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, the CNMI government paid $700,000 for a 2007 general obligation bond. The Commonwealth is obligated to pay $7 million annually for the bond. Next month, Atalig said the administration expects to make an additional payment of $2.9 million for the bond. He said the government is also required to remit $40 million annually to the CNMI Settlement Fund to pay 75% of the retireesâ pension. Atalig said in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the government paid about $6 million to the Settlement Fund.