DR1 Daily News - Thursday, 25 May 2017

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More taxes on telecom services to pay for 911
ProConsumidor checks for false advertising
Deputies call for reinstating betting shops into money-laundering bills
Economists alert to risks associated with national debt
Odebrecht papers still need translations
Former public works minister confirms friendship with SCJ judge
Adocco files complaint on dam construction in Las Matas de Farfan
Green Movement announces San Pedro de Macorís march
A license plate to identify each province
Davicito brings salsa to the Puerto Plata Amphitheater
Festival Presidente set for November


More taxes on telecom services to pay for 911
The Chamber of Deputies passed on Wednesday, 24 May 2017, the bill that amends the 911 Emergency System Law 140-13. The legislation now moves on to the Senate for consideration. 

The bill contemplates adding a new “Tasa para el Desarrollo y la Sostenibilidad” (or a Rate/Tariff for Sustainable Development) to telecom services in order to help fund the public service. Telecom companies will need to pay US$0.02, or equivalent in Dominican pesos as established by the rate of the Central Bank, for each minute of voice calls. Also, the telecommunication firms will pay a rate of (US$0.0025) for each text message (SMS) coming from abroad. It is expected this will be passed on to consumers in the price of the service.

The new bill establishes that the 911 Emergency System, in coordination with the Public Ministry, is responsible for the planning, design and installation of surveillance videos in cities and the supervision of the security cameras in public places. The Presidency will now be in charge of the 911 camera surveillance. In the past camera surveillance fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior and Police. 

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/diputa...l-de-atencion-a-emergencia-y-seguridad-9-1-1/
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/05/24/diputados-aprueban-segunda-lectura-modificacion-ley-creo-911


ProConsumidor checks for false advertising
ProConsumidor director Aniana Del Castillo reported on 24 March 2017 that the agency has monitored the veracity of 500 store Mother’s Day promotions. ProConsumidor has been checking mainly for false advertising. The consumer defense agency looked into promotions for the sale of appliances, furniture, clothing, shoes, cars, cable TV, telecom services, restaurants, florists, insurance, and even ice cream. 
In a press release Del Castillo points out that 177 of the promotions carried restrictions that would affect consumers.  The companies were notified of the violations of the law and given the opportunity to correct the violations and to publish the corrections. 

Del Castillo told reporters from the Diario Libre that raffles are used to attract clients and therefore they must contain guarantees in order to comply with what they are promising. ProComsumidor highlighted that in many instances, the raffles do not adequately inform participants where and when the winners will be published, or what guarantees exist for the prizes to be offered. She said there sometimes is a lack of information on how the winners will be chosen. The agency lists on their website (http://www.proconsumidor.gob.do) the raffles that have their approval. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...ones-que-afectan-a-los-consumidores-YA7165463


Deputies call for reinstating betting shops into money-laundering bills
Legislators from the opposition told reporters on 24 May 2017 that the sports betting shops and lottery sales agencies are a fertile ground for money laundering activities because they handle lots of cash that is not regulated by the state. The Chamber of Deputies had passed the Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism Bill that would be amended in the Senate to exclude betting shops. The bill would replace Law 72-02 on money laundering from drug trafficking operations.

According to Augustine Burgos, legislator for the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) from La Vega, Congress would commit a serious mistake if it removes these agencies from the new scrutiny to be provided under the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism Bill (Ley de Lavado de Activos y Financiamiento al Terrorismo). The Senate amended the bill that had passed in the Chamber of Deputies to exclude the betting shops and gaming operations, with the exception of casinos. 

Burgos said that his fellow deputies have the mission of not allowing legislators who are owners of sports betting parlors to impose their criteria when the Chamber of Deputies takes the proposal under consideration. He says he does not understand why the authorities have not wanted to regulate the sports betting business. “There are hundreds of thousands [of these betting shops that are operating illegally,” he observed. He feels these operations facilitate the laundering of money. 

The bill now returns to the Chamber of Deputies where legislators need to approve or disapprove the amendments made in the Senate prior to sending it to the Presidency. The bill was sent to the Chamber of Deputies’ Justice Commission  that is expected to render a report in a week’s time. 

In the Presidency, Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo defended the amendments made by the senators to the bill. The bill seeks to align the local money laundering regulations with global recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF-GAFI). 

http://elnacional.com.do/ven-bancas-loterias-se-prestan-a-lavado/


Economists alert to risks associated with national debt
Faculty members at the School of Economics of the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (Intec) warned that if the current level of the national debt (calculated to be 37.7% of GDP) were to reach 40% of GDP, it would impact the interest rates as established on the sovereign bonds that the country has placed on the international markets. The report “Intec: Analysis of the Dominican Economy” was presented by Rafael Espinal, an economics professor at Intec and Franklin Vasquez, the dean of School of Economics and Business. 

The public debt of the non-financial public sector has reached its highest level in four years. The report explains that last year the public debt grew by some US$2.5 billion a little less than 38% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and that it had a tendency to pass the 40% barrier considered to be the danger line for sustainability by international risk assessment agencies and organizations who periodically evaluate the economies of many countries including the Dominican Republic. 

Last week, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development Isidoro Santana, said that the issue of the public debt is a problem that worries government but that it is manageable.  The head of the Ministry of Hacienda, Donald Guerrero explained that most of the public debt is tied to fixed rate financial instruments that guard the country against the impact of interest rate increases by the United States Federal Reserve. 

On the other hand, the Intec economists warn the debt policy of debt of the Central Bank, is focused on managing the flow of dollars so that the monetary exchange rates are relatively stable.  To accomplish this, the Central Bank issues securities valued at around RD$430 million. The report concludes that this leads to what essentially is a chronic and steadily increasing operational cost. 

“The securities constitute an additional financial debt to the government’s public debt, which reaches 49% of GDP and creates a quasi-fiscal deficit for the government because of the cost brought about by the capital funding of the Central Bank,” the economists point out in the report.

The economists also noted that the recent years strong pace of economic expansion, together with stability in the recent first quarter growth, have resulted in a favorable external environment mostly because of the return to the growth cycle of the United States economy and low prices of imported raw materials.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...dominicana-esta-en-umbral-de-riesgo-KB7164826


Odebrecht papers still need translations
Prosecutors and technicians at the Attorney General Office are dedicating time and resources to the analysis, translation and appraisal of the thousands of documents sent from Brazil regarding the Odebrecht corruption case. The work is the foundation for the indictments to be sent to the Justice Department involving persons that the company admits to have paid bribes to in order to obtain contracts in the Dominican Republic. 

As reported in the media, on 24 May 2017, the Attorney General of the Republic Jean Alain Rodríguez, did not carry out any inquiries and instead and concentrated on the analysis and translation of these documents. 

It was also revealed that the Justice Department already has a list of a series of arrest warrants that could be executed at any moment over the next week against those who are implicated in this great bribery case. 

El Nacional newspaper cites unnamed sources who have said the case file is practically ready and they are only working on a few details prior to beginning the arrests and the arraignment before the courts. 

According to El Nacional, all told the Attorney General of the Republic has questioned 38 persons including the minister of Industry and Commerce Temistocles Montas, who at first said that he had requested an interview with the Attorney General but later admitted that he had been cited to appear before the Attorney General to testify regarding the case.

http://elnacional.com.do/sigue-traduccion-documentos-de-caso-odebrecht/


Víctor Díaz Rua confirms friendship with SCJ judge
Former minister of Public Works and Communications Victor Díaz Rua, during whose tenure the largest number of projects involving the Odebrecht construction company were built, told reporters that he is a good friend of Supreme Court Judge Miriam German Brito. 

Díaz Rua made the comment after the highly respected judge announced she is asking for Supreme Court of Justice president Mariano German’s opinion about whether she should recuse herself from the Odebrecht case if it reaches the Supreme Court of Justice. 

The judge in the letter to Supreme Court of Justice president Mariano Germán cites her impeccable reputation as a judge noting that she has not been subject to influence. In the letter she mentions her judgments against Díaz Rúa and equally controversial PLD officer Felix Bautista, despite her close ties to a relative of Bautista. 

Meanwhile, Díaz Rua denied he had talked to her at any time about any issue related to his previous position in the government. 

Speaking on the program “Sol de la Mañana” Diaz Rua said he had “never dealt with issues of [his] profession with judge Germán. He said that they talked about books, history and other trivial things, and he added that those who know the judge noted she won’t talk about any of the pending issues before the court. 

The former minister said that efforts to discredit him or the PLD party were simply based in party politics in an attempt to damage the current administration.

Judge Germán Brito is regarded as one of the shining stars in the Dominican justice system for her independence of criteria and high level of knowledge. Adriano Miguel Tejada dedicates the editorial of the Diario Libre to praise the judge’s track record. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...rua-miriam-german-y-yo-somos-amigos-BA7165003
http://hoy.com.do/jueza-scj-decide-excluirse-del-proceso-odebrecht/
http://almomento.net/diaz-rua-niega...destaca-amistad-con-jueza-german-brito/319473
https://www.metrord.do/do/noticias/...no-tomen-cuenta-caso-odebrecht-llega-scj.html
https://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/editorial/miriam-german-IN7168864


Adocco files complaint on dam construction in Las Matas de Farfán
The Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (Adocco) reported on 24 May 2017 that it has t filed a complaint with the Procurement Agency of the government (Dirección General de Compras y Contrataciones Públicas). The complaint focuses on certain irregularities in the tender process for awarding the contract to build the Yucahueque Dam in the town of Las Matas de Farfan in the province of San Juan de la Maguana. 

The non-governmental organization says that during the tender process that resulted in the contract from the Dominican Hydroelectric Generation Company (EgeHID) to the IDC-MTR Consortium on 10 May 2017, several irregularities were committed in violation of Law 340-06 on public purchases and contracts. Adocco says that the irregularities are related to the process of the tender, in the files containing the conditions and finally in the contract as signed. 

Adocco also detected anomalies in the act of the meeting of the negotiating commission of EgeHID and the consortium on 2 May 2017, in which an agreement was signed regarding the list of amounts, prices and cost of the project. The project is estimated to have a cost of RD$742.5 million pesos.

http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...atacion-para-construccion-hidroelectrica.html


Green Movement announces San Pedro de Macorís march
The Green Movement has announced its next protest activity will take place in San Pedro de Macorís on Sunday, 11 June 2017, starting at 10am. The march will start at the bodega of the Porvenir sugar mill, proceed along several main streets in the city and conclude at the park off the San Pedro Apóstol Cathedral. 

The march is to protest corruption and impunity in government. The organizers are inviting residents in eastern provinces of La Altagracia, El Seibo, Hato Mayor and San Pedro de Macorís to participate. 

http://hoy.com.do/marcha-verde-convoca-a-nueva-marcha-fin-de-la-impunidad-en-san-pedro-de-macoris/


A license plate to identify each province
Graphic designer Andy Castillo is proposing that the license plates for vehicles in the Dominican Republic should identify the province or the National District from where the vehicle is registered. Castillo is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design in New York and is a professor at the Altos de Chavon School of Design. 

Castillo argues that the nation’s license plates highlight the variety of colors and cultural elements that uniquely identify the Dominican Republic. 

As reported by Yaniris López in Listín Diario, Castillo’s idea is to change the mundane present license plates for plates that include natural icons. Castillo also envisions incorporating security systems as a measure to reducing crime. The license plates would incorporate QR reading and hologram. 

Castillo registered the idea in the National Copyright Office (ONDA) in 2013. 

He said he got the idea after living in the United States and noticing that each license plate identified from where the vehicle was from. 

The artist can be contacted at castillorivas2010@gmail.com

http://www.listindiario.com/la-vida/2017/05/24/467200/una-placa-para-cada-provincia


Davicito brings salsa to the Puerto Plata Amphitheater
On Saturday, 27 May 2017, salsa singer Davicito Kada will be performing at the newly inaugurated Puerto Plata Amphitheater, located at La Puntilla on the Puerto Plata Malecon. With him will be Los Hermanos Rosario, Raulín Rodríguez, Shadow Blow, Bonny Cepeda and Richie Cepeda and the Banda Real. The event is organized by Luis Medrano. 


Festival Presidente set for November
Diario Libre reports inside sources confirmed the Festival de Música Presidente will be held this 2017 on 3, 4 and 5 November. The event will be staged at the Felix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. Names that are mentioned are Justin Timberlake and Ariana Grande. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/revista...3-4-y-5-de-noviembre-en-el-olimpico-NN7168843