DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 10 January 2017

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Back to school
AMET retains 2,000 for not showing vehicle sticker
Nilka Jansen to head ProCompetencia
Tax collections up 20% in December 2016
Peru is visa-free for Dominicans
Fuel prices increase again
Will farmers be evicted from Valle Nuevo?
Detour at Las Americas Highway for pathway installation
Pre-trial custody for Percival Matos gang
Brayan Felix Paulino arrested and released before raid
Mont?s wants out of Aquino Febrillet murder case
Italian-Canadian Antonio Carbone freed
Anti-corruption march called for Sunday 22 January
Rainy week in store
David Villa DV7 Academy: new option for football athletes
Aguilas lead baseball round robin



Back to school
Life returns to normal in the Dominican Republic after an unusually long Christmas, New Year and Three Kings Day holiday break. Schools reopen on Tuesday, 10 January 2017 nationwide.

Minister of Education Andr?s Navarro called on students to attend on the first day of school of the second semester of the 2016-17 academic year. “If a student does not show up he will fall behind and slow down everyone else’s learning because teachers will usually not make progress until they have ensured that all the students have reached the same level,” he stated.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...-clases-del-segundo-periodo-escolar-FI5947788


AMET retains 2,000 for not showing vehicle sticker
The Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET) has confiscated more than 2,000 vehicles and fined their drivers for travelling without the required taxation sticker (marbete) since the deadline for renewal expired on Friday, 6 January 2017.

The confiscated vehicles have been parked at designated lots in Villa Mella, Independencia Avenue and Monumental Avenue with Rep?blica de Colombia in Santo Domingo.

The stickers can still be renewed at an additional RD$900 plus a penalty charge of RD$1,500 or RD$3,000 for vehicles newer than 2012.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...a-a-los-conductores-por-transitar-sin-marbete
http://eldia.com.do/amet-ha-retenido-mas-de-2-mil-vehiculos-por-transitar-sin-marbete/


Nilka Jansen to head ProCompetencia
President Danilo Medina has appointed the deputy director of ProCompetencia, Nilka Elisa Jansen as its first executive director since the entity was created by a law in 2008. With the announcement, the government institution can now begin implementing the role for which it was created, which is to strengthen competition and fight monopolies in the private business sector. In 2016, Medina appointed its new president, journalist and lawyer Yolanda Mart?nez.

The appointments follows the August 2016 release of Inter-American Development Bank funded research that singled out several cases of dominant position, monopoly and oligopoly imposition by beer, pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

ProCompetencia was created in 2008 by Law 42-08, but so far it has only operated with a board that has cost the country millions in wages with little to show for the expense.

Jansen is a graduate in law from the Pontificia Universidad Cat?lica Madre y Maestra (2003-2007), with a Masters in intellectual property and information society from the Universidad de Alicante in Spain. She has taught law at the PUCMM, served as an assistant lawyer at the Supreme Court of Justice (2005-2008), legal advisor to Indotel (2009-2013), and lawyer at Pro Competencia from January 20013 to February 2014. In September 2016, she was appointed deputy director at ProCompetencia.

http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...e-a-darle-validez-a-pro-competencia-CG5932567
http://www.diariolibre.com/economia...la-abusos-de-monopolios-dominicanos-XI4684918


Tax collections up 20% in December 2016
The Tax Agency (DGII) reported a 20% increase in revenues in December 2016 compared to December 2015. New director Magin J. D?az, who took on the post in mid-August 2016, said that there was a significant increase in collections in the last quarter of the year. He said tax collections were up 18% in September, 11% in October, 14% in November and 20% in December compared to those same months in 2015.

http://www.dgii.gov.do/noticias/Pag...crecendosdígitosen?ltimocuatrimestre2016.aspx


Peru is visa-free for Dominicans
Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado has announced that any Dominican citizen wanting to travel to Peru as a tourist no longer needs a visa.

Via a press release, Vargas said the visa-free travel to Peru follows the country being notified of the facility by the Ministry of Foreign Relations in Peru.

Vargas said the announcement would strengthen the good relationship that exists between the two countries.
The new ruling went into effect on 1 January 2017.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2017/01/06/449408/dominicanos-iran-sin-visa-a-peru


Fuel prices increase again
For the second consecutive week, the government has agreed to an increase in the prices of two types of fuel. The others remain unchanged.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) for the week of January 7-13, premium gasoline will be sold to the public at RD$214.80 per gallon and regular at RD$199.20, which is an increase of RD$4 per gallon. The previous week, the price of gasoline increased by RD$5.

Regular diesel will remain at RD$154.00 per gallon, Optimo at RD$168.60 per gallon, aviation fuel at RD$116.90 per gallon, and kerosene at RD$142.00 per gallon.

The price of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) has also increased by RD$3 to RD$106.10 per gallon and Natural Gas stays at the same price of RD$25.26 per cubic meter.

http://eldia.com.do/aumentan-rd4-00-a-la-gasolina-y-ya-esta-a-rd214-80-el-galon/


Will farmers be evicted from Valle Nuevo?
The Ministry of Environment has given farmers in the Valle Nuevo area until 29 January 2017 to harvest their crops and stop working in the 910 square km mountain area at more than 2,000 meters above sea level. Farmers in the area claim property rights and are demanding compensation payments from the government in return for leaving. The government is also pushing for all laborers to leave the area. The Ministry has said it will begin a reforestation project to restore the forests.

The leading environmental organization in the Santiago area, the Sociedad Ecol?gica del Cibao (SOECI) has called for the farmers to be evicted from the Juan Bautista P?rez Rancier National Park (Valle Nuevo). SOECI executive director Luis Polanco says that the area must be protected from farming, as the sources for the country’s main watersheds - Nizao, Yaque del Sur and Yuna - are in Valle Nuevo.

“At SOECI we believe that our protected areas need to be protected and our civil society will never accept the presence of a group of predators that are destroying the assets of the Valle Nuevo National Park,” said Polanco. He offered SOECI’s support for the Ministry of Environment’s call for the farmers to stop their work in the area and the eviction of the occupants.

In an interview in Hoy, environmentalist Luis Carvajal says that the government has prohibited land transactions and exploitation in the area since 1961, meaning that the property titles being presented today are illegal. He said when late President Joaqu?n Balaguer took office, the tree-cutting enterprises in the area allowed by murdered dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo were banned and this was confirmed by the government that passed national park laws. Carvajal says that any title transferred since 1961 is illegal.

Local farmers, mainly the Guzm?n family, have called for negotiations with the government or for financial compensation for their loss. However, Carvajal says that on the contrary, these farmers should reimburse the country for the environmental damage they have wreaked in the area.

Several days before the end of his term in 2004, former President Hip?lito Mej?a made compensation payments of more than RD$200 million to members of the Guzm?n family for the property. Other members of the family are also demanding compensation for 450,000 tareas of land. The Guzm?n Silverio, Mora, Villaman, Crouch and Mercado families represent the Ganadera del Valle, Sociedad Agr?cola del Valle, Granja Mora, Flores Purama, Flores Antillanas, and Explotaci?n Maderera de Constanza companies.

Mej?a has taken the side of the landholders. In a letter to President Danilo Medina dated 30 December 2016, Mej?a called for talks that will lead to a satisfactory solution to the conflict in the Valle Nuevo National Park.

Mej?a wrote: “What has happened in Valle Nuevo is a case that illustrates very well what happens when the state absents itself irresponsibly and later reappears in a repressive manner. The Dominican experience has demonstrated to us, that as a result of this behavior, the results obtained are frequently contrary to the objective that is being pursued.”

Ministry of Environment Resolution 14-2016 gave farmers 120 days to cease their activities and leave the area. It is said to affect more than 400 farmers in 33 communities throughout Valle Nuevo, regarded as the main water source for at least seven rivers and five springs.

http://www.diariolibre.com/medioamb...cibao-apoya-desalojo-en-valle-nuevo-CL5940150
http://hoy.com.do/carvajal-son-ilegales-los-titulos-valle-nuevo-hay-que-resarcir/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/01/05/medida-rescate-valle-nuevo-entre-jubilo-angustia
http://eldia.com.do/propietarios-terrenos-de-valle-nuevo-piden-mediacion/
http://www.diariolibre.com/medioamb...enta-y-reaparece-de-forma-represiva-BY5881542


Detour at Las Americas Highway for pathway installation
If you plan to travel on the Las Americas Highway on Tuesday, 10 January 2017, it is worth noting that as of 10:30pm through 5am on Wednesday, 11 January, detours will be in operation at Km 27 of the highway across from the ITLA Cyberpark, near La Caleta, the Las Americas Airport and the Caucedo Multimodal Port and Boca Chica.

The Ministry of Public Works has announced that traffic will be rerouted in both directions.

The detours will allow the central beams for the pedestrian bridge under construction in the area to be installed.


Pre-trial custody for Percival Matos gang
On Friday, 6 January 2017, the National District prosecutors requested pre-trial custody for Brayan Peter F?lix Paulino (accused of heading the operations), Mayor Elvin Rodgers Rodr?guez (accused of providing the guns for the robberies), Javier Fern?ndez Perell? (accused of being the contact between the military and Percival) and motorcycle mechanic Reivi David Corpor?n (La Culebra) for complicity in the bank robbery gang allegedly headed by former military officer John Percival Matos, who was shot dead by the Police on 28 December 2016. Judge Jos? Alejandro Vargas will hold the hearing to decide on the coercive measures on Tuesday, 10 January 2017.

The Army announced the suspension of Major Rodgers Rodr?guez, who is suspected of supplying the weapons to the gang, but claims he is innocent of all accusations and is asking the press to attend his hearing on Tuesday. Rodgers, a member of the national shooting team, has competed in leading sports events, including the Toronto Pan American Games.

As reported, investigations are in process to establish if other army officers are involved.

According to the National District Prosecution Service, the deceased John Percival Matos was responsible for planning the recent spate of bank robberies, Brayan F?lix Paulino was in charge of carrying them out, and a third person waited for them at the corner on a motorcycle for the getaway.

According to the Public Prosecutors, Percival Matos took advantage of his military knowledge to form a criminal gang that used firearms to kill anyone who tried to stop the robberies that occurred at several banks in Villa Mella, Bella Vista Mall and Plaza Lama in August, September and December.

So far, Ana Iris Linares (Liriano), described as Percival Matos’s girlfriend, and who was also a member of the bank robbery gang has been left out of the case.

Linares reportedly said she was not aware of the group’s involvement in the robbery in Bella Vista Mall. Press reports say that Percival and F?lix Paulino had hidden in her home in Santiago.

According to the request for coercive measures, Fern?ndez Perell? financed the armed robbery in Bella Vista Mall, sending money to the now deceased Percival Matos through a bank account in the name of Ana Iris Linares. Linares is also known to have rented Percival Matos and F?lix Paulino a house in Villa Altagracia where they are said to have stayed while they were on the run from the law.

After receiving the keys to the house, Linares went to the motel in Bonao with Percival and Paulino in the car in which Percival would later supposedly be shot on 28 December 2016. Percival had then sent her and Brayan Felix to buy another vehicle and they left in a taxi, after which he was shot and killed by the Police.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...anda-de-percival-sembro-terror-en-la-sociedad
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...de-prision-para-brayan-y-otros-tres-YM5925001
http://eldia.com.do/la-fiscalia-solicitara-hoy-coercion-contra-banda-percival-matos/


Brayan Felix Paulino arrested and released before raid
The police has announced that its Department of Internal Affairs is investigating claims that Brayan Peter Felix Paulino, said to be the operating arm of the bank robbery criminal gang led by the deceased John Percival Matos, was arrested and detained in San Cristobal on 12 December 2016, 15 days before the armed robbery of the Banco Popular in Plaza Lama. An exhaustive investigation is underway as there are reports that he was released after paying RD$25,000. His motorcycle, which he was driving without documents, was returned to him.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...s-antes-del-asalto-al-banco-popular-HJ5946595
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...-brayan-despues-pn-lo-remitio-a-investigacion


Mont?s wants out of Aquino Febrillet murder case
National District prosecutor Yeni Berenice Reynoso says that the announcement by former PRM candidate for deputy, Edward Andr?s Mont?s Lorenzo that he is withdrawing from the legal action against truck union leader Blas Peralta does not remove him from responsibility in the murder case.

The tragic events of March 2016 unfolded after a heated argument with Peralta in a city restaurant, when Mont?s got into former state university rector Mateo Aquino Febrillet’s car, only to be pursued by Peralta’s vehicle and ending with Aquino Febrillet being shot dead, allegedly by Peralta. The case, which is yet to be heard in court, seeks to prove that lead suspect Blas Peralta is guilty.

Mont?s said he was withdrawing from the case on the grounds that his mother had suffered a stroke due to the situation. On 23 May 2016 he had presented the case against Blas Peralta, Rafael Herrera Pe?a, Geraldo F?lix Bautista Mena and Franklin Alejandro Venegas Rivas.

Shortly before his death, Aquino Febrillet was mediating in an argument between Peralta, then president of the Federaci?n Nacional de Transporte Dominicano (Fenatrado), who aspired to be a PRM candidate for deputy, and fellow aspiring candidate Mont?s. National District prosecutors are accusing Peralta of shooting at Mateo Febrillet’s SUV during a car chase after the argument with Mont?s in a restaurant on Avenida Anacaona. The National District prosecutors said that after firing the gun that killed Aquino Febrillet, Peralta changed the barrel of the murder weapon and later threw their incriminating cell phones into the sea.

Although Aquino Febrillet’s widow has expressed her concern, she said nevertheless that the case would continue without him. “With or without Edward, whoever killed Aquino Febrillet will pay. The proof is clear and conclusive. Even the statements he made and which he cannot retract,” she stated.

“This is incredible. My husband gave his life for him and if we see who is responsible for Mateo Aquino Febrillet’s death it is him, because he had a row with Blas Peralta and neither of the two thought of my husband,” she stated. She said she suspects that what she describes as “interests” have motivated him to take the decision to withdraw from the case.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...enzo-retiro-ayer-querella-contra-blas-peralta
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...1/esposa-e-hija-febrillet-mantienen-acusacion


Italian-Canadian Antonio Carbone freed
A National District Court has allowed an Italian-Canadian citizen, Antonio Carbone, to walk free after being held in prison accused of the December 2014 attempted murder of the general manager of Dream Casinos Corporation, Fernando B?ez Guerrero.

The court made the decision as the one-year preventive custody imposed by judge Jose Alejandra Vargas had expired. B?ez Guerrero’s lawyers complained as the decision was made after the senior judge, president of the court, Rafael Antonio had excused himself from the proceedings.

B?ez Guerrero says that with Carbone free, he now fears for his life.

Carbone was placed in preventive custody in January 2014 when he was accused, along with his brother Francesco Carbone of trying to murder Fernando B?ez. The casino manager’s vehicle exploded in October 2014, and Carbone was arrested as he was trying to leave the country from Punta Cana International Airport.

His brother, Francesco and another foreigner were declared to be on the run.
Dreams Casino is still under investigation by the Public Prosecution Service.

World Casino Directory news service recalls that Carbone and his brother Francesco established Dream Casinos Corporation before losing control over much of the business after reportedly being loaned over $110 million by Canadian financier and philanthropist Michael DeGroote and amid lawsuits, accusations of fraud and underworld intrigue. The news service highlights that authorities in the Dominican Republic and Canada investigated whether an international criminal organization used the business and its chain of around 1,000 betting shops to illegally launder money and serve as a front for other operations.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...ento-de-homicidio-de-gerente-de-dream-casinos
https://news.worldcasinodirectory.c...rbone-released-from-pre-trial-detention-40203


Anti-corruption march called for Sunday 22 January
A series of campaigning groups and civil society organizations are preparing for a march on Sunday 22 January 2017 to demand the government investigate the Odebrecht bribe case. The organizations include Foro Ciudadano, Poder Ciudadano, Somos Pueblo, Centro Juan XXIII, Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Bloque Popular, Movimiento de Trabajadores Independientes, Movimiento de Mujeres Trabajadoras, Comit? Codiano, Corriente Magisterial Juan Pablo Duarte, Feflas, Los Peregrinos de Moca, Juventud Caribe, FAPROUASD, La Multitud, Frente Universitario Renovador, and Grupo Milenio Verde (MIVER).

The march is scheduled to start at 10am at the intersection of M?ximo G?mez and 27 de Febrero avenues ending at the Presidential Palace via Dr. Delgado street.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/01/05/pide-gobierno-cancele-contratos-con-odebrecht


Rainy week in store
According to the Emergency Operations Center (COE) a green alert is now in place for the provinces of Puerto Plata, Montecristi and Espaillat (Moca) due to the increased risk of flooding in areas close to rivers and streams.
The measure was announced after the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) reported on a frontal system over the east of Cuba and a weather front located over the Windward Passage. Both are moving towards the east/south east across the whole of the country and bringing rain to several provinces: Dajab?n, Montecristi, Valverde (Mao), Santiago Rodr?guez, Puerto Plata, Espaillat (Moca), Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo), Mar?a Trinidad S?nchez (Nagua), S?nchez Ram?rez (Cotu?), Saman?, Duarte (San Francisco de Macor?s) and Santiago.
Rains are also forecast for the provinces of La Vega, Monse?or Nouel (Bonao), Monte Plata, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, San Pedro de Macor?s, La Romana, La Altagracia (Higuey), San Crist?bal, Peravia (Ban?), Azua and Barahona.

The rains are expected to continue for the first half of the second week of January 2017.

http://eldia.com.do/coe-declara-tres-provincias-en-alerta-verde-por-inundaciones/
http://hoy.com.do/onamet-pronostica-lluvias-debiles-en-varias-provincias/


David Villa DV7 Academy: new option for football athletes
The DV7 Soccer Academy is opening in Santo Domingo in January 2017. As reported, Spanish footballer David Villa himself will be attending the inauguration at the Media Cancha Carrefour installations in Santo Domingo North at 5pm on 12 January 2017. Training will take place at the Carrefour field and at the ABC School. The local director is David Escandell.

Children between the ages of 5 and 17 will be taught to play football based on the Spanish methodology that David Villa learned as a child and later perfected from the hand and guidance of some of the best trainers in history.

World Cup champion and all-time leading scorer for Spain’s National Soccer Team, David Villa was a member of the team that won the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

There are DV7 Soccer Academies in the United States, Hong Kong, South Korea and now in the Dominican Republic. For more information, call 809 255-3230.

http://dv7socceracademy.com/our-academies/santo-domingo/


Aguilas lead baseball round robin
The Aguilas Cibae?as have taken the lead in the semi-finals of the Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Championship. As of Monday, 9 January 2017, with 15 games to go, the Aguilas had notched up nine wins and only one loss. The Tigres del Licey follow 4 games behind, the Gigantes del Cibao are third with 5.5 games behind, and the Leones del Escogido are fourth, with six games behind.

See tournament statistics at:
http://estadisticas.lidom.com/Estadisticas/Inicio

See the games schedule at:
http://www.lidom.com/home/calendario/

Read more on ongoing and upcoming events at:
http://www.dr1.com/calendar


Archived News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/91-Daily-Headline-News

Archived Travel News stories:
http://dr1.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/92-Travel-amp-Tourism-News