DR1 Daily News - Monday, 19 September 2016

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President Danilo Medina to UN General Assembly
First Medina administration cabinet meeting
Medina administration to help farmers affected by Medfly ban
Mario Vargas Llosa to be honored at Book Fair
Yolanda Mart?nez takes on commission for defense of competition
Central Bank bans exclusive US dollar credit card machines
Three JCE judges proposed to continue
Haiti lifting the trade ban: just good intentions?
Former President Fernandez has meetings in NY
US Consulate wants access to biometric and facial ID data
Arms shipment seized at Customs
Bank robbery in Samana
DNA test confirms body find was Carla Massiel
Police suspect Percival Matos in Bella Vista Mall robbery
Drug arrest at Las Americas International
Victor Estrella wins, but DR loses to Colombia in Davis Cup


President Danilo Medina to UN General Assembly
President Danilo Medina is scheduled to travel to New York City on Monday, 19 September 2016 to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly. Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado has already left for the event.

The Dominican Republic is also attending as the holder of the temporary presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).


First Medina administration cabinet meeting
During the first government cabinet meeting held by the Medina administration at the start of its second term on Friday, 16 September 2016, the ministers, directors, administrators, superintendents of leading government agencies and the Central Bank governor, were informed of the general guidelines for the 2016-2020 term with the creation of several new government organizations.

Speaking to the press after the government meeting, which took place behind closed doors, Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo said that Medina had used the meeting to set out the objectives for his next term including lifting another 830,000 people from poverty, creating 400,000 new jobs, investing in improving the quality of public education, improving street safety, public health reforms, implementing the Digital Republic program, housing, water resources management and urban transport.

“We need to work united to the inside of the government, with cooperation in government areas, working like an orchestra, playing the musical score described in the Government Program and in the President’s inaugural speech,” Montalvo told the press reporting on the meeting.

He said that during the meeting, Medina also emphasized that his is a government of national unity and the best way to achieve results is to listen to the people and take decisions together with social institutions in a constant process of dialogue and harmonization.

At the meeting the Medina government presented new measures for enhanced security and informed that they would soon be issuing new decrees for road safety and water.
The 11 decrees that will be issued shortly include:
The Presidential Road Safety Commission aimed at reducing traffic accidents.
A Recourse Water Coordination Table for inter-sectorial coordination and national comprehensive strategy for managing water resources nationwide for sustainable development.
A decree that will regulate the operation of the transnational Internet website for government procurement.
Creation of the Government Commission for Interior Security, to implement policies for citizen security and coordinate the work of the government security agencies.
A decree regulating the management of State Sugar Council lands, which will include an inventory, rules for their transfer and prioritizing the use of the lands for projects of social interest.
A decree on the Digital Republic project to promote the inclusion of ITC at educational and government levels.
A new system for registration and monitoring of the government, which seeks to consolidate and follow up on the fulfillment of objectives of the government entities that will be coordinated by the Ministry of the Presidency.

During the meeting, Medina urged his officials and government employees to act with honesty and transparency in the exercise of their duties over the next four years and to respect the law of service to citizens. He called for Dominican society to be aware of the work of the public servants and to report any transgressions.

After the meeting, Montalvo announced that the 2017 National Budget assessment meetings would take place before 1 October 2016, as established in the Constitution, but after President Medina returns from the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

The media reported that the meeting began with the 10am-sharp arrival of President Danilo Medina and that four government officials, who reportedly arrived around 15 minutes late, were denied entry to the session: C?sar L?pez, director general of beautification, H?ctor Rafael Peguero M?ndez, director of the Southwestern Development Institute (Indesur), Anina del Castillo of ProConsumidor, and Metropolitan Transport Office (OMSA) director Manuel Rivas.

The meeting began at 9:59 and concluded at 11:37am at the Salon de Embajadores.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...firma-compromiso-con-mejorar-vida-de-la-gente


Medina administration to help farmers affected by Medfly ban
President Danilo Medina is providing government support to producers affected by the ban on exports to the United States following the detection of Medfly in a consignment of produce in Punta Cana International Airport in late 2014.

Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jos? Ram?n Peralta made the announcement via his Twitter account following the President’s recent visit to producers in Rancho Arriba, San Jose de Ocoa province. He said that the governmental Banco Agr?cola would make resources available to producers affected by losses following the ban for Medfly. At the time, sources suggested that the ban had been imposed because of negligence on the part of the Ministry of Agriculture, which had allowed the transshipment of a cargo from South America that is suspected of bringing the vector into the country.

The ban has been lifted in most areas, but its effects are reported to have bankrupted several export nurseries and plantations.

http://www.diariolibre.com/m/economia/gobierno-rescatara-afectados-por-veda-CK4972884


Mario Vargas Llosa to be honored at Book Fair
Nobel prize for Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa will be presented with the Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a International Award during the inaugural ceremony of the Santo Domingo International Book Fair on Monday, 19 September 2016. The event will be presided over by the new Minister of Culture Pedro Verges.

The FILSD 2016 opening ceremony starts at 7pm at the National Theater and the event will continue through Sunday, 2 October 2016 on the grounds and cultural centers located in the Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte. Book fair coordinator Luis O. Brea confirmed Vargas Llosa’s attendance during a press conference.

The jury’s choice of Vargas Llosa has been controversial. In his acceptance letter, Vargas Llosa acknowledged that it was a “generous distinction” after his sharp criticism of the country following the Constitutional Tribunal issuing Ruling 68 in 2013 on nationality issues and migratory controls in the country. In an opinion piece published in Spanish daily El Pais, Vargas Llosa wrote that the ruling appeared to be inspired by the Nazi regime’s 1935 Nuremberg laws, which stripped German nationality from Jews who had lived in the country for generations.

“The fact that I am being granted this award despite this precedent speaks very well of the democratic, tolerant and open spirit that fortunately seems to prevail in the country. It will be a pleasure for me to return to that beloved land for the occasion of this generous distinction,” he wrote in his acceptance letter.

Previous winners of the Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a Award have been Puerto Rican writer and humanist Luis Luis Rafael S?nchez (2013), Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal, Uruguayan Eduardo Galeano (2014), and Argentine journalist and writer Beatriz Sarlo (2015).

To download the program for the book fair, see http://cultura.gob.do/programa-de-la-xix-feria-internacional-del-libro-santo-domingo-2016/

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...ir-premio-internacional-pedro-henriquez-urena

Read Vargas Llosa’s controversial article: http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/10/31/opinion/1383233998_965346.html


Yolanda Mart?nez takes on commission for defense of competition
The board of the National Commission for the Defense of Competition (CNDC), best known as ProCompetencia, met on Friday, 16 September 2016 to formalize the appointment of Yolanda Mart?nez as the new president of the government entity.

On Friday, Minister of Industry and Commerce Tem?stocles Mont?s officially announced Mart?nez’s appointment. The Ministry issued a release saying that President Danilo Medina wants the CNDC to be active due to the important role that the entity can play in the consolidation of the country’s productive system.

To date, the entity’s work has been hindered by Congress not passing the ruling for the organization, nor the organization having an executive director, despite the high cost of its board of directors.

Upon being sworn in the post, Mart?nez, a TV and radio host and lawyer, said she was honored and that she would implement President Medina’s vision.

http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...mas-intensa-profunda-defensa-competencia.html
http://procompetencia.gov.do


Central Bank bans exclusive US dollar credit card machines
The Central Bank issued a notification to businesses that have been using exclusive US dollar point of sale systems (Verifone) to receive customer payments. The Central Bank said the measure was taken due to the increasing proliferation of exclusive US dollar point of sales systems. The practice was being implemented by private schools, stores, universities, independent professionals, hospitals, insurance companies, real estate companies, restaurants and travel agencies.

While many companies quote their rates in dollars, what is legal is the customer to have the option to make payments in pesos at the going rate.

In the notification, the Central Bank says the ban is being imposed in the interest of protecting credit card payers’ right to choose and to prevent undesirable pressures on the exchange rate.

The bank is giving companies 90 days to remove the exclusive foreign currency point of sale machines.

As reported in Diario Libre, hotelier Rafael Blanco Canto, who is also the president of the National Business Council, complained that the business sector had not been notified of the measure. He said the practice had been established because it is normal for prices to be set in US dollars in the tourism industry and that it was a way of avoiding confusion with the exchange rate fluctuations.

http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...obros-en-dolares-sorprende-empresas-BD4959829


Three JCE judges proposed to continue
With a week to go before registration closes for aspiring judges to the Central Electoral Board (JCE), proposals for presiding judge Roberto Rosario, and judges Rosario Graciano de los Santos and Jose Angel Aquino Rodr?guez to remain in their posts have been received by the Senate assessment committee chaired by senator Dionis S?nchez Carrasco.

The proposal for Roberto Rosario was presented by the Ateneo Dominicano and by the Consejo Dominicano de Unidad Evangelica (Codue) representing Evangelical Christian organizations. Jose Angel Aquino Rodr?guez was proposed by 14 organizations, including the state UASD University and the Universidad Tecnologica del Cibao Oriental. Rosario Graciano’s candidacy was presented by four women’s promotion groups – the Businesswomen’s Federation (FEM), the National Businesswomen’s Association (ANMEPRO), the National Women’s Council and the Ministry of Women, and their spokeswomen Janet Camilo, Emma Valoy, Sulin Lantigua and Fior Rodriguez.
Monday, 19 September 2016 is the expiration date for proposals of candidates for judges for the 2016-2020 Central Electoral Board.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/09/19/435774/vence-hoy-plazo-para-aspirantes-a-la-jce
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...para-continuar-como-jueza-de-la-jce-EM4961521


Haiti lifting the trade ban: just good intentions?
The president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (Fedocamaras) Claudio Fern?ndez says that the export ban on 23 products to Haiti has not been lifted. The decision was announced after a meeting of Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado in Port-au-Prince with acting Haitian President Jocelerme Privert and Vargas’s Haitian counterpart, Pierrot Delienne. The lifting of the ban was later confirmed by Dominican ambassador to Haiti Ruben Sili?.

Nevertheless, Fern?ndez of Fedocamaras says that trade is not flowing and that contraband, which has never stopped, prevails. He said the announcements were little more than good intentions.

He said the Dominican government needed trained trade professionals in its staff accredited in Haiti to help settle any differences in trade issues between Haiti and the DR.

“The keeping of the ban, in fact, is inconvenient for both the Dominican Republic or Haiti, because it has only encouraged smuggling and reduces any chance of formalizing and regularizing trade between both countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, Campos de Moya of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) said he has received information that the Haitian authorities are allowing many of the 23 banned products to enter overland. He expressed optimism that a conclusive solution would be found once the elections are held in Haiti on 9 October 2016 as scheduled. Haiti is the second largest export market for Dominican products.

http://hoy.com.do/fedocamaras-dice-haiti-no-levanto-la-veda-de-productos/
http://acento.com.do/2016/economia/8383724-aird-afirma-haiti-flexibilizo-veda-productos/


Former President Fernandez has meetings in NY
Former three-time President Leonel Fernandez will be in New York City at the same time as President Danilo Medina, who is attending the 71st United Nations General Assembly.

Fernandez, who is also president of Funglode and sister organization Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) has a 10-day program in New York. This includes participating in the Clinton Global Initiative, the International Conference on Sustainable Development organized by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). He plans to be present at the debate between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump scheduled for 26 September 2016 at the Hofstra University in Long Island.

He will also attend meetings with United Nations special envoy for global education Gordon Brown, Alistair Edgar, executive director of the United Nations Academic System Council executives of the New York Institute of Technology, representatives of the Democratic Party and directors of professional organizations representing expatriate Dominicans.

During his stay in New York he also has plans to present the Dominican Republic Initiative 2044 (RD2044), a 30-year infrastructure development plan for 32 provinces and the National District in preparation for the Dominican Republic’s 200th anniversary.

Fernandez is also scheduled to attend the opening of a golf tournament organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD). The Eighth GFDD Golf Tournament will take place, once again, at the Glen Head Country Club in Glen Head, New York on Monday, 26 September 2016.

http://listindiario.com/la-republic...dez-agotara-agenda-de-diez-dias-en-nueva-york


US Consulate wants access to biometric and facial ID data
The US Consulate has requested access to the Central Electoral Board (JCE) identity card system’s biometric and facial digital data.

As reported in Diario Libre, US special agent Duncan Tye of the consular section requested the information to assist in the detection of individuals with double or fake identities, through the use of facial recognition. The letter explains that the US government criminal investigations unit in the Dominican Republic is working in coordination with the National Police investigative unit for forged documents for travel purposes, which operates from the US Consulate.

http://www.diariolibre.com/m/notici...jce-acceso-a-base-datos-biometricos-KN4971396


Arms shipment seized at Customs
A hidden shipment of weapons, including 18 handguns and rifles, ammunition and other supplies, was uncovered by Customs Agency (DGA) agents in two freight containers at the Port of Haina on Friday, 16 September 2016. This follows several similar discoveries since Enrique Ramirez was appointed as head of the DGA on 16 August 2016.

On Saturday, 17 September, another illegal consignment of 365 packets of bullets for rifles was found in food storage tanks sent from the US to the DR for family consumption of basic items.

Just last week, the DGA confiscated another shipment of assault rifles, including an AR15, M-4 and M-16, and Fal guns and ammunition.

http://eldia.com.do/aduanas-incauta-cargamento-de-18-pistolas-un-rifle-y-55-cajas-de-cartuchos/
http://elnacional.com.do/aduanas-incauta-cargamento-de-armas-de-alto-calibre/
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=498417


Bank robbery in Samana
The Police Central Investigations Agency (Dicrim) is investigating a robbery at the Banco M?ltiple Ademi bank on Calle Maria Trinidad Sanchez in the northeastern city of Samana. The Police did not reveal the amount of cash that was stolen.

According to reports, two armed individuals wearing helmets held up the security guard and obliged the clerk to hand over the cash before leaving the scene on a motorcycle.

http://eldia.com.do/policia-persigue-asaltantes-de-banco-en-samana/


DNA test confirms body find was Carla Massiel
The National Forensic Sciences Institute (Inacif) confirmed on Friday, 16 September 2016 that the body of a child found in Los Garc?a is that of nine-year old girl Carla Massiel Cabrera, who went missing on 25 June 2015.

The chief suspect in the murder, Darwin Trinidad Infante helped locate the remains. Law enforcement agents are investigating the motives for the killing. Trinidad Infante is held in custody at a La Romana jail.

http://hoy.com.do/prueba-de-adn-confirma-restos-son-de-carla-massiel/


Police suspect Percival Matos in Bella Vista Mall robbery
The Police and state prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for former Army lieutenant John Emilio Percival Matos and Brayan Peter Felix Paulino. Notes have been sent to Migration and Interpol for their arrest and a ban has been imposed on their leaving the country.

The orders were issued on Saturday, 17 September 2016. Percival is the son of retired general Rafael Percival Pe?a.

They are accused of being behind the armed robbery of security guards transporting cash from a bank in Santo Domingo’s Bella Vista mall on Wednesday, 14 September 2016. One security guard was killed in the heist and another is seriously injured. The Police reported the robbery of more than RD$3 million and revealed that a M16 gun was used.

Diario Libre recalls that Percival Matos and his wife Ginnssellys Halversoni V?squez were accused of the robbery of an airplane from the La Isabela International Airport in 2013. They were discharged from the case at the time.

Diario Libre reports that Brayan Peter F?lix Paulino was arrested in February 2016 for a RD$105,000 telephone scam, after being accused by his alleged victim, Odette Secundina Castillo Ortega.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...salto-a-camion-de-valores-en-bella-vista-mall
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...-pena-en-asalto-a-camion-de-valores-LM4970872
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/09/...utor-del-robo-camion-valores-bella-vista-mall
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...val-pena-robo-camion-valores-bella-vista.html


Drug arrest at Las Americas International
National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) agents have arrested a man at Las Americas International Airport attempting to import into the Dominican Republic 12 kilograms of a white substance. He had arrived from South America.

The white substance was sent to the National Forensic Sciencs Institute (Inacif) that determined the white powder was cocaine and weighed 12.65 kilos.

http://www.dncd.gob.do/dncd-apresa-hombre-con-14-paquetes-de-heroina-en-el-aila/


Victor Estrella wins, but DR loses to Colombia in Davis Cup
Dominican star tennis player Victor Estrella (ranked 77th by the ATP) won his match in the Davis Cup competition at the Centro Espa?ol in Santiago over the weekend on Friday, 17 September 2016. He defeated Alejandro Gonzalez (ranked 168th) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

However, Colombia’s men took the other four matches of the first round relegation playoff held the weekend of 17-18 September.

For the DR to remain in Group 1 Americas of the Davis Cup it needs now to match Barbados in the second round playoffs that will be held in the Dominican Republic from 28-30 October 2016.

http://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-2016-G1-AM-REL-DOM-COL-01

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