DR1 Daily News - Friday, 28 October 2016

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Week of France at the Barcel? Santo Domingo
Maternity leave extended as of 9 February 2017
European Union signs small business donations program
No agreement, no Electricity Pact
Tax incentives for sports activities proposed
Government officials should present their tax certificate
Senate president calls for investigation of all senators in Super Tucano case
Pared P?rez says he awaits justice commission report on PRM bid
National District prosecutor: Hidalgo M?ndez is back
Azua police arrests Haitian who decapitated man
Mariasela Alvarez goes blind for a day in solidarity
Rains forecast for Friday
It’s all about flowers at the Botanical Gardens
Celebrating our African heritage
Fausto Rey in the Esquina de la M?sica
Comedy at Casa de Teatro



Week of France at the Barcel? Santo Domingo
President Danilo Medina and Minister of Foreign Relations Miguel Vargas Maldonado visited the Week of France exhibition at the Barcel? Santo Domingo. French-Dominican Chamber of Commerce president Joan Giacinti and French ambassador Jos? G?mez were hosts at the opening.

The event, which takes place at the Barcel? Santo Domingo on the M?ximo G?mez Avenue this weekend, has been organized by the French-Dominican Chamber of Commerce with the backing of the Embassy of France in the Dominican Republic. The trade show and exhibition is open to the general public from 27-30 October 2016. It includes a business forum with the participation of more than 40 French companies in the Dominican Republic.

Pierre Bel, special envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean of President of France Francois Hollande, was the keynote speaker at the opening.

In his remarks, he described the event as an opportunity for Dominican businesspeople to obtain information on issues that will have an impact on the country’s future in the areas of energy, renewable energy, transport, urban planning and tourism. “To produce energy at a low cost, in accordance with the needs of the population and respecting the environment is a challenge affecting all societies and is being presented here,” said the special envoy.*

Bel highlighted that French investment in the country has increased 30% in the past two years. Some of the leading French investments include the Metro Santo Domingo, Metro Cable, Total gas stations and Vinci Airport.

President Medina also held a private meeting with Pierre Bel, special envoy of President of France Francois Hollande for Latin America and the Caribbean on Thursday 27 October 2016.

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias...edina-asiste-a-inauguracion-semana-de-francia


Maternity leave extended as of 9 February 2017
Minister of Labor Maritza Hern?ndez reminded employers that maternity leave in the Dominican Republic is being increased from 12 to 14 weeks as of 9 February 2017. The increase was applied in implementation of The International Labor Organization Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183).

Hern?ndez said that the international mandate is above the local Labor Code.

She pointed out that 257,863 men were hired for the 413,236 new jobs created since 2012, compared to 154,847 women. She said it is more difficult for women to find jobs in the large companies and attributed this to employers’ concern about absenteeism during the pre and post maternity periods.

In an interview with El Caribe Hern?ndez said that unemployment in the Dominican Republic is around 13.5%.

She said that the total number of people in formal employment and registered in the social security system was 1,745,654 in a population of 10 million.

She said the regions where most new jobs have been created are the National District and Santo Domingo, Espaillat (Moca), Puerto Plata, Santiago, El Seibo, La Romana and La Altagracia (Higuey).

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/03/02/licencia-materna-aumentara-14-semanas-2017
http://saludysociedadcivil.org.do/i...o-pre-y-post-natal-de-las-trabajadoras-en-r-d


European Union signs small business donations program
The European Union and the Ministry of Industry & Commerce confirmed on Tuesday, 25 October 2016 the reciprocal cooperation agreement that will donate EUR12 million to the small business sector. The EU will contribute EUR11 million and the Dominican government EUR1 million counterpart.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Industry and Commerce Temistocles Montas and Stefano Manservisi, Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO). Manservisi was in the Dominican Republic for the European Union-Latin American and Caribbean ministerial summit that ended on 25-26 October 2016.

The local director of Multilateral Cooperation (Digecom) Antonio Vargas Hern?ndez reaffirmed both parties’ commitment to boosting the development of the small business and quality systems for the production of goods and services. The program has a strong component for strengthening value chains for processed fruit, beauty and personal care products and cosmetics.

Also present at the ceremony at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce was Jolita Butkeviciene, director for Latin America and Caribbean at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Development and Cooperation – EuropeAid; Ricard Bard?a, head of the economic and social area of the European Commission and head of cooperation at the European Union delegation in the Dominican Republic; Ignacio M?ndez, deputy minister for promotion of small business at the Ministry of Industry & Commerce and European Union program officer Sachenka Encarnaci?n Solano.


No agreement, no Electricity Pact
The lack of an agreement between the government, the business sector, and the social and labor sectors is what is keeping the Electricity Pact in a sort of limbo, according to Milton Morrison, the executive vice president of the Dominican Electricity Industry Association (Adie).

He told reporters from El Nacional newspaper: “There was no agreement on the issue of rates or regarding the points relating to the reduction of losses by the distribution companies and especially when it comes to the efficiency levels that these companies should maintain in order to operate in a adequate manner. When we began to discuss these levels of proficiency, the discussions turned into a stalemate that has blocked progress with the Electricity Pact.”

Morrison explained that there is a difference in the way that each sector viewed electricity rates, how they should be applied and when and how much they should be reduced. He told reporters: “We want to have electricity rates that, when oil goes down the rates also go down…” He added that they have always tried to achieve efficiency in the collection of electricity sold because they are currently losing close to 35% of the energy that is transmitted due to the lack of efficient collection of electricity bills.

http://www.diariolibre.com/economia/pacto-electrico-estancado-por-desacuerdo-en-tarifa-XA5277404


Tax incentives for sports activities proposed
Legislator Omar de Marchena (PLD-Santo Domingo Province) has submitted a bill for sports development in the country. The “Ley de Impulso al Desarrollo del Deporte en la Rep?blica Dominicana” would offer tax incentives to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in sports activities and athletes.

De Marchena predicts that if approved, the bill would bring about a revolution in sports activities by promoting training for professionals in sports management, sports projects and the modernization of the sports sector.

As a legislator, de Marchena expressed his concern for the future of sports in the country. He said the initiative would encourage cash donations for non-profit programs, and would encourage the sponsorship of projects, proposal and sports programs.

The bill also includes a proposal for a procedure whereby technical services to sports activities, approved by the sports authorities, would be tax-free for 10 years.

http://elnacional.com.do/diputado-o...ecto-ley-de-fomento-a-la-inversion-deportiva/


Government officials should present their tax certificate
Two legislators are proposing an amendment to the law that obliges government officials to file a statement of their assets and liabilities. Deputies Fidel Santana of the Frente Amplio and Betsayda Gonz?lez of the PQDC say that the file should be accompanied by a certificate of taxes paid (IR-1) by the officials to back up their asset statements. The DGII certificate is aimed at reducing impunity in administrative corruption in line with best practices in other countries. They seek to change Law 311-14 on Sworn Asset Statements. At present, data contained in the statements does not have to be verified by a third party.

If the sworn asset statements of several past and present officials are reviewed, they are likely to contain long lists of luxury assets. “To ensure transparency and overcome any doubts about the origin of these assets, they should be accompanied by the corresponding certificates of tax payments issued by the Tax Agency (DGII),” said Santana.

Santana and Gonz?lez say that the amendment, as well as helping to prevent false declarations, will also strengthen control mechanisms against tax evasion, especially by people who due to their social and political standing have a wide sphere of influence and evasion.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/10/...a-modificar-ley-declaracion-jurada-patrimonio
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...-para-incluir-certificacion-pago-de-impuestos
*

Senate president calls for investigation of all senators in Super Tucano case
The president of the Senate, Reinaldo Pared P?rez (PLD – National District) has asked the Attorney General to summon the 32 senators who approved the Dominican government proposal to take on BNDES financing to purchase the eight Super Tucano aircraft. A US Department of Justice investigation recently established that bribery was involved in the sale of the aircraft in the Dominican Republic.

At the time of the purchase in 2008, the Dominican media reported on Pared P?rez’s strong support for his fellow senators in the PLD majority Congress for the passing of the bill by. At the time, the overpricing of the aircraft was also mentioned but this did not discourage the legislators in both houses, where the ruling PLD held the majority, from voting in favor of the loan for the purchase of the aircraft.

“He should question the 32 who were senators at that time. If there was any responsibility, each should answer if they committed an irregularity,” Pared P?rez told journalists after presiding a Senate session on Wednesday, 26 October 2016. At the time, only two PLD senators, Francisco Dom?nguez Brito (then PLD-Santiago) and Wilton Guerrero (PLD-Peravia) voted against the financing bill.*

As reported in Acento, Pared P?rez said that he was waiting to be called in by the Attorney General for interrogation to explain about the push he made for legislators to vote in favor of the bill, in order to clarify everything. He said he has nothing to hide in the Super Tucano case and is convinced that there were no irregularities, and that if there were, this happened outside of the Senate.

On the question of the loan for Punta Catalina, approved by the Senate, he said that the new financing is RD$56 million lower than the BNDES financing.

http://acento.com.do/2016/politica/...enadores-aprobaron-prestamo-los-super-tucano/


Pared P?rez says he awaits justice commission report on PRM bid
Senate President Reinaldo Pared Perez has told journalists that he is awaiting the Justice Commission of the Senate’s report on the composition of the National Magistracy Council.

The PRM was the political party that came second in the 2016 general elections, but the PLD majority Congress is debating whether Art. 178 of the Constitution that establishes the members of the National Magistracy Council can be interpreted differently.

The snag has to do with the Art. 178 of the Constitution establishes that the interpretation of the clause. The clause establishes in both the cases of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies that a seat in the National Magistracy Council will be assigned to the senator and deputy chosen by the legislative body, belonging to a political party or block of parties different from the one of the President of the Senate/Chamber of Deputies and representing the party or block with the second-largest number of seats in the Senate/Chamber of Deputies.

The interpretation could establish whether the PLD-ally, the PRD or the opposition party PRM gets the seats in the National Council of the Magistracy.

If the PRM candidate is not voted in, the ruling PLD party will then have full control of the important judicial council.

The other Council members are the President of the Republic, the president of the Senate, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, the chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, chosen by the Supreme Court and the Attorney General.

The National Magistracy Council is responsible for appointing the justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court, Supreme Electoral Court and evaluating the performance of the justices of the Supreme Court of Justice.

http://acento.com.do/2016/politica/...enadores-aprobaron-prestamo-los-super-tucano/


National District prosecutor: Hidalgo M?ndez is back
National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso G?mez has told reporters that Teodoro de Jes?s Hidalgo M?ndez, suspected of a RD$930 million fraud affecting 300 depositors in his financial company, returned to the country on Saturday, 22 October 2016, as scheduled on his return ticket. Hidalgo was reported to have traveled to the United States on 8 October.

The judiciary has issued an arrest warrant as part of investigations into the case of his Inversia SRL finance company that operated without the authorization of the Superintendence of Banks.

Lawsuits have been filed against Hidalgo Mendez and his daughters Ilka Patricia, Carolina, Daniela and Gabriela Hidalgo Ure?a and a Colombian woman, Brenda Iriannis Niebles Ar?valo by 23 of the 300 victims. The finance company paid depositors above market interest rates.

http://eldia.com.do/coronel-ayudo-gerente-inversia-salir-pais/


Azua police arrests Haitian who decapitated man
An undocumented Haitian, 26-year old Yobelice Mayo (alias Onil) has been arrested in Azua. He is the main suspect in the murder of fellow undocumented Haitian Betomin (Chiquito) who was between 16 and 20 years of age.

Allegedly, Betomin died after being decapitated by the suspect. The crime occurred on 11 October 2016 in Las Yayas de Viajama, Azua. Mayo was arrested after a group of people handed him over to the Police in Azua. The Police have not yet located the homicide weapon.

http://www.metrord.do/noticias/apre...n-compatriota-en-azua/ftwpjA---HhsM37zdMgP52/


Mariasela Alvarez goes blind for a day in solidarity
Wearing a blindfold and with just a white safety cane in hand, the Dominican Republic’s only Miss World, TV host Mariasela Alvarez walked along several Santo Domingo streets on Thursday, 27 October 2016. A person who is actually blind guided her during the walk, which was filmed for her Esta Noche Mariasela TV variety show.*

Alvarez is supporting a new campaign, “A cane for you, the right environment for all” launched by engineer Francina Hungr?a, who was blinded after being shot in the eye during an armed robbery in Piantini. She has since become a campaigner for blind people.

In her announcement of the upcoming show on social media, Alvarez commented that a street with sidewalks in disrepair that is already difficult to walk on is almost impossible for blind people.

As part of the campaign, Hungr?a, who runs the Fundaci?n Francina seeks to raise public awareness about the way in which disabilities affect people when the environment restricts access to city streets, while promoting the use of the white cane as a self-sufficiency tool for people with visual impairment.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...4/mariasela-queda-ciega-con-baston-por-un-dia
https://fundacionfrancina.org


Rains forecast for Friday
Rains are forecast for the Dominican Republic on Friday, 28 October 2016. A trough located over the Atlantic Ocean is interacting with a tropical wave on the western side of the country. Rains are expected in the northern, northeastern, northwestern, southeastern, central and border areas. High surf is forecast for the northern coast and small boats are advised to stay within coastal waters.


It’s all about flowers at the Botanical Gardens
The Jard?n Bot?nico Nacional Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso (JBN) in Santo Domingo presents its annual event, the 12th National Festival of Plants and Flowers starting on Friday 28 and continuing through Sunday 30 October 2016.

Nurseries, greenhouses, florists, orchid growers and horticulturists will present their most colorful collections.

Everything related to plants will be available for sale at the event, with experts on hand to provide expert advice to customers.

Ricardo Garc?a, general director of the Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, says the event seeks to raise public awareness of the importance of plants during these times of climate change and pollution. The program includes workshops on irrigation of gardens, cultivation and maintenance of orchids, creative recycling and floral arrangements.

http://www.jbn.gob.do/index.php?opt...es-al-jardin-botanico&catid=9:blog&Itemid=153


Celebrating our African heritage
The annual Afro descent Festival organized by the Plataforma Dominicana de Afrodescendientes, the Dominican Committee for the Slaves Route/Unesco and the Centro Cultural de Espa?a in Santo Domingo is underway.

The program opened with a lecture and concert at the Centro Cultural de Espa?a on Thursday, 27 October and continues on Friday, 28 October in Boca de Nigua with daytime visits to the Boca de Nigua sugar mill, and in the afternoon a workshop at the Centro Cultural de Espa?a.

On Saturday, 29 October, there will be an exhibition by artist Geo Ripley accompanied by the Congos de Villa Mella, Guloyas de San Pedro de Macor?s, Tony ******* and Jos? Duluc, Gag? del Batey Bienvenido, among others.

To close the festival, on Sunday 30, in the morning there will be a talk on the historical impact of the rebellion of black slaves at Boca de Nigua, an exhibition of curly hairstyles, and an atabales music performance. In the evening there will be performances by Los Soneros de Haina, Enerolisa y la Salves de Mata Los Indios, Folklor Imaginario with Rafaelito Mirabal, Fell? Vega, Quiqui Curiel, among others.

http://ccesd.org/2016/09/afrodescenciafest/


Fausto Rey in the Esquina de la M?sica
Balladeer Fausto Rey (El Niche) is performing on Friday, 28 October 2016 at the La Esquina de la M?sica (former Esquina de Tejas) on Av. 27 de Febrero in Santo Domingo. Showtime is 10pm. Fausto Rey is memorable singer best known for his hits in the 1970s and 1980s. There is a dance floor at La Esquina de la M?sica.


Comedy at Casa de Teatro
A Spanish comedy-play by Juan Jos? Alonso, “El cianuro, solo o con leche” will be performed on the weekend of 28-30 October 2016 at the Casa de Teatro in the Colonial City in Santo Domingo. The leading roles are being played by Jessi Rodr?guez, Kirsys N??ez, Sharina Hern?ndez and Jisell S?nchez. The play starts at 8:30pm on Friday and Saturday and 6:30pm on Sunday.

For information on upcoming events:
http://www.dr1.com/calendar


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