DR1 Daily News - Monday, 14 August 2017

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Gustavo Montalvo: Medina will not seek re-election
Ministry of Environment and Jaragua Group to work together in Bahoruco
DR remarks on military option Venezuela
James Brewster meets with President Medina
Boca Chica overpass opened to traffic
Civil registry offices new opening hours
15% wage increase for hotel and restaurant employees
30% of Dominicans suffer from hypertension
Malecón fisherman survives fall in sea
Prosecutors check for more victims of priest
Dominican stowaway makes it to Miami on AA flight
Eumir Deodato coming for Restoration Jazz



Gustavo Montalvo: Medina will not seek re-election
Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo tweeted yesterday that President Danilo Medina would not seek his re-election in the general election scheduled for May 2020. He urged the ruling PLD party to present new candidates for the 2020 general elections.

Montalvo posted: “President Danilo Medina will be in government through 16 August 2020. Not a single day more. The PLD needs to propose new faces to the country.”

The post follows remarks made by Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, spokesman of President Danilo Medina, who had stated that the President would adhere to the Constitution. In 2011, President Danilo Medina pushed through changes to the 2012 Constitution so that he could run for the Presidency in 2016. The PLD is absolute majority in Congress, with a majority of legislators being President Danilo Medina supporters.

The 2020 Constitution does not allow President Danilo Medina to run for President again. It establishes the possibility for re-election but then bans the President from a third term.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/08/14/montalvo-asegura-danilo-no-se-reelegira/


Ministry of Environment and Jaragua Group to work together in Bahoruco
Minister of Environment Francisco Domínguez Brito announced the signing of an agreement with the Jaragua Group for the co-management of the Bahoruco mountain range in the southwest on the border with Haiti.

The agreement will establish guidelines for the co-management of the natural areas in the southwestern border region. Over the course of the next few months, Grupo Jaragua and the Ministry of the Environment will develop and implement activities that will conserve the region’s rich biodiversity. For example, Grupo Jaragua will facilitate and contribute to improvements in ecotourism infrastructure while exerting greater control of activities in the protected areas. The Ministry, in turn, will provide natural resource conservation training for its personnel. The government has also agreed to improve at least 10 kms of secondary roads to allow easier access to predetermined areas in support of sustainable tourism.

Minister Domínguez Brito and Yolanda León for the Jaragua Group signed the agreement.

https://elnuevodiario.com.do/dominguez-brito-afirma-sierra-bahoruco-sera-intervenida/


DR remarks on military option Venezuela
The Dominican Republic is keeping to its position of passive action in the Venezuelan conflict. Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado and former President Leonel Fernández this weekend expressed their opposition to outsider military intervention in Venezuela. They believe this would not contribute to the resolution of the political and social crisis affecting Venezuela. On the contrary, military action would only worsen the clash between President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition, Vargas Maldonado and Fernández have separately observed.

Foreign Minister Vargas specifically referenced as unhelpful the words of US President Donald Trump who hinted about a possible military intervention in Venezuela by the United States. He says that talks and a diplomatic solution are the best way to resolve the differences in Venezuela.

“An open, frank and sincere dialog is the best path to a national reconciliation agreement that guarantees the peaceful and democratic coexistence of the conflicting parties,” said Vargas.

"Obviously it [military intervention] would be a contradiction if what is sought is to solve an internal political crisis in a country in the region where, in addition, there is a democratically-elected government ...," said the Dominican Foreign Minister.

He said President Danilo Medina has invited the Venezuelans to hold the reconciliation talks in the Dominican Republic.

Vargas said that the Dominican Republic has purposefully not taken sides as the debate about how to resolve the crisis has unfolded. The Medina government position is that impartial arbitration is a vital component to resolve the social and political crisis in Venezuela. Vargas noted that the Dominican Republic has been a beacon of democracy in the region for six decades and is willing to work with all sides in Venezuela to resolve the conflict.

Former President Leonel Fernández in a Tweet observed that the military action on behalf of the US in Venezuela would be a historic mistake and the worst alternative. Fernández has participated in reconciliation talks together with former Spanish President Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and former Panamanian President Martín Torrijos.

US President Donald Trump recently stated that the US would not rule out a military option in Venezuela. Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López remarked in response that this would be “an act of madness.”

http://eldia.com.do/rd-opuesta-intervencion-en-venezuela/
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...-solucione-crisis-venezuela.html#.WZF1dNPyvkI


James Brewster meets with President Medina
Former US ambassador in the Dominican Republic, James Brewster met with President Danilo Medina and Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo on Friday, 11 August 2017, as reported in Diario Libre. Neither Brewster nor the Presidency has commented on the reason for the meeting.

Brewster resigned as ambassador at the start of the Trump administration in January 2017. Brewster was a political appointee who was named to the post for the second term of former US President Barack Obama. The Trump administration recently named a new charge d’affaires for the US Embassy in Santo Domingo, but has not announced Brewster’s replacement.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...on-danilo-medina-y-gustavo-montalvo-IE7879974


Boca Chica overpass opened to traffic
The Ministry of Public Works announced the opening to traffic of another overpass for traffic headed to and from Santo Domingo from the East. The Boca Chica overpass is the third roadwork built in the vicinity of Las Americas International Airport and the Multimodal Caucedo Port area to expedite the flow of traffic moving from Santo Domingo, the capital city to and from the eastern parts of the country.

Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said the public work will lessen congestion in the area and improve the quality of life for residents in Boca Chica by expediting traffic along the Las Americas Highway.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/obras-publicas-abre-al-transito-elevado-boca-chica-AF7896398


Civil registry offices new opening hours
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) announced that civil registries in the Dominican Republic will now all have the same business hours. JCE offices will be open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm. In the past, some JCE offices remained open until 5pm.

The measure does not affect the offices that operate at public hospitals. These JCE offices will remain open in extended working hours and on Saturdays and Sundays in order to register births at affiliated hospitals.


15% wage increase for hotel and restaurant employees
The Ministry of Labor announced that the National Salaries Committee agreed on a 15% increase for the workers of hotels and restaurants, and heavy farm equipment operators. The increase benefits employees of hotels, casinos, restaurants, bars, cafés, cafeterias, nightclubs, pizzerias, ice cream shops and fast food stores. The increase is effective as of 1 August 2017.


30% of Dominicans suffer from hypertension
Dr. Petronila Martínez, representative of the Colegio Americano de Cardiología in the Dominican Republic, is proposing a 24-hour service network nationwide to assist those suffering heart attacks, one of the leading causes of death in the Dominican Republic. She says 30.2% of Dominicans suffer from hypertension. She said the increasing sedentary life of most Dominicans has had a major impact on the increase in heart troubles.

She announced that the society will soon be making available results of a survey carried out by Gallup on coronary issues in the country. She says that 37% of deaths in the country are related to heart attacks.

Martínez says medical insurance plans also need to play a role in expediting medical attention. She said the National Emergency System (911) plays a crucial role but these need to be equipped with electrocardiogram equipment.


Malecón fisherman survives fall in sea
A 21-year old Alexander de la Cruz was rescued from the waters of the Caribbean Sea after he was swept into the sea by a rising swell. De la Cruz, a resident in Los Mina, was fishing on Sunday when an unusually high wave swept him into the water. He explained that a friend threw him two thermoses that he used stay afloat until the firemen responding to a 911 call could rescue him. Alexander de la Cruz explained he frequently fished in the area. He was taken to a hospital and administered first aid for minor scrapes and bruises.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...oven-que-fue-arrastrado-por-ola-en-el-malecon


Prosecutors check for more victims of priest
State prosecutors are checking for other victims of 41-year old former Roman Catholic Church priest Elvin Taveras Durán. He has been suspended by the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo. The announcement of the ongoing investigations into the murder case was made by prosecutor Olga Diná Llaverías.

Taveras is accused of the murder and sexual abuse of 16-year old Fernelis Carrión Saviñón. Carrión who had served as an altar boy at the San Nicolás Church in Villa Mella.

Taveras was remanded to one year of custody at the Najayo jail. Prosecutors say the victim was hit twice in the back of the head with a hammer, suffocated with a plastic bag and stabbed.

Taveras was arrested on Monday, 7 August 2017. He reportedly has confessed to the alleging he was being extorted by the boy who threatened to post photos of them having sex.

Meanwhile, relatives of the 41-year old Taveras interviewed by the media reportedly were in denial and found the accusations hard to believe. One sister said that Taveras was the pride of the family.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...victimas-de-sacerdote-elvin-taveras-NA7893087
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...ra-es-el-orgullo-de-nuestra-familia-GG7877019


Dominican stowaway makes it to Miami on AA flight
26-year old Siomi Santos made it to Miami as a stowaway onboard American Airlines flight 1026. Santos was arrested at Miami International Airport when trying to legally enter the United States using a Jamaican passport.

Siomi explained he slipped into the landing gear of the American Airlines plane in the early morning hours when it was parked at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo. He said he entered the airport through the cargo area. Airport security at Las Americas is responsibility of the Specialized Airport Corps (CESAC) and the Long Port Aviation company.

Santos would return to the Dominican Republic deported on AA1511 and was arrested by the Migration Agency (DGM) for illicit travel.


Eumir Deodato coming for Jazz Festival
The third International Restoration Jazz Festival will take place on Saturday, 19 August 2017, starting at 7pm at the Fortaleza Ozama in the Colonial City.

Performers that evening will include Federico Méndez and his Jazz Combo (11 musicians) and Moncho Ríos quintet. Also appearing will be the internationally renowned pianist, Ernan Lope Nessa, and his quartet, featuring special guest Sabrina Estepan.

Other performers will be world-famed Brazilian jazz performer Eumir Deodato. He will perform accompanied by the Fede Méndez Jazz Combo with four musicians added to the band. The evening ends with the performance of famous trumpeter Luis (Perico) Ortiz. The stage’s setting was designed by Geo Ripley.

During the evening performances, Maestro Crispín Fernández will be recognized. In fact, the festival is a tribute to his work. Iván Fernández is the general director of the Festival.

Wednesday, 16 August 2017, is a national holiday in the Dominican Republic, commemorating the day independence was returned to the country following a second round of Spanish rule.