DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 14 November 2017

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May 3, 2000
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Public school teacher evaluations has begun
International reserves fluctuate with government borrowing
Public sector debt still too high
Yet another public hospital strike
JCE recognizes Taiwan as a country
Corotos signs agreement for safe goods trading spots
Dominican bishops protest use of mobiles in church
Attorney General talks about the JCE and Odebrecht
Trucker suspect of transporting 345 packages of cocaine
Dominicans running New York heroin
Baby Astrid recovering from first surgery
More rains forecast
Yessica Oviedo and Yamilet Peña win gold in Bolivarian Games


Public school teacher evaluations has begun
Over the past three weeks, the Ministry of Education has evaluated the performance of 26,300 public school teachers as part of its assessment of 60,000 educators. The purpose of the evaluation is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the education system. The evaluations come with a price tag of RD$140 million and will determine who gets wage increases between 17 and 32%. These are the first evaluations in eight years.

565 pairs of evaluators made their assessments based on watching each teacher in class for 45 minutes.

Participating in the evaluations are the Dominican Institution for Evaluation and Investigation of Education Quality (Ideice), the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), the Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) and the Ministry of Education.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...-evaluado-el-desempeno-de-26-mil-300-maestros


International reserves fluctuate with government borrowing
The Central Bank data shows that its net international reserves have declined US$537.9 million from January to September 2017. The net international reserves have gone from US$6.7 billion in January 2017 to US$6.17 billion in September 2017.

Economist Miguel Collado is critical of the origin of the international reserves in the Dominican Republic in recent years. He explained to Diario Libre that in recent years international reserves have fluctuated depending on the cash flow of international borrowing taken on by the Dominican government instead of being locally generated from exports or investments.

“Since the government does not have a surplus because it operates with a deficit you can usually see the reserves increase when there are international bonds emissions. That money enters and an important part is allotted to the Central Bank,” he said.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-dominicana-bajan-us-537-9-millones-LI8569481


Public sector debt still too high
As at 30 September 2017, the public sector non-financial debt (SPNF) was US$29.06 billion accounting for 39.4% of the Gross Domestic Product, (GDP), according to statistics from the General Department of Public Credit, a Ministry of Hacienda division.

The report explains that the SPNF is made up of 64.91% for external debt, or US$ 18.86 billion, whereas the remaining 35.09%, some US$10.19 billion is internal debt.

The report explains that the total internal debt includes US$2.77 billion that is debt taken on by a government institution with another such entity, such as the international bonds issued by Central Government for the recapitalization of the Central Bank.

Economist Henri Hebrard stated that the problem would become unsustainable if the country is unable to find more lenders. But he noted that so far this has not been the case.

However, he did say that the government recognized that it did not have sufficient revenues to combat socioeconomic inequality, spur robust economic development of the country while still remaining competitive.

Hebrard stated that the investment in infrastructure would improve the level of competitiveness and that the country must improve its economic growth and hence the level of income.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...inanciero-sube-a-us-29-063-millones-BG8558300


Yet another public hospital strike
The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) has called yet another strike at public hospitals, this one for 48 hours to last from Wednesday 15 November through Thursday 16 November. The strikes are to pressure the government to negotiate with the CMD. The CMD demands payment of wage increases of 15% to thousands of doctors as they say had been agreed with the government.

This will be the seventh strike called by the CMD during the past quarter of the year. The strikes primarily affect the indigent and those that live in the provinces that are the main users of the public hospitals.

Spokespersons for the CMD have stated that as soon as the Minister of Public Health or any other competent authority agrees to talk to them the strike will be lifted.

According to outgoing CMD president, Waldo Ariel Suero, the strikes have never had to do with the internal elections. The vice president of the CMD, Wilson Roa was elected president in elections this month. He begins his presidency on 8 December 2017.

Minister of Public Health Altagracia Guzmán Marcelino asked the rector of the Santo Domingo Catholic University Monsignor Jesus Castro to resume talks with the CMD as soon once the new president is sworn in. She said the meeting would be at the Catholic University main campus.

Meanwhile, the former candidate for the presidency of the Dominican Medical Association (CMD), Clemente Terrero, has said that he has “overwhelming” proof that the CMD elections were “a major fraud”. He stated that the fraud was planned and carried out by the association president and alleged that ballot tables were absconded, doctors taken off the voting registry and dead people were included on the voting list. He issued a document delivered on Monday, 13 November, to the Electoral Committee of the CMD. The CMD announced that Wilson Roa had won with around 70% of the vote.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...aro-en-los-hospitales-este-miercoles-y-jueves
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...nto-asuma-nuevo-presidente-del-colegio-medico
http://hoy.com.do/lo-que-hara-la-ministra-de-salud-tan-pronto-nueva-directiva-del-cdm-tome-posesion/
http://eldia.com.do/clemente-terrero-afirma-tener-pruebas-contundentes-de-fraude-en-elecciones-cmd/


JCE recognizes Taiwan as a country
Following a request received in September 2017 from Taiwan Ambassador Valentino Ji Zen Tang, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) accepted to give Taiwan the category of country in the ID cards issued to Taiwan legal residents in the country. The detail will appear now on their Dominican cedulas, the local identification card. Previously, a Taiwan was identified as a city of China.
The JCE board issued resolution 2017-640 indicating: “From here on, where the city of birth is referred to as Taiwan and the country of birth is China, the city of birth will be included first, followed by Taiwan as the country.” The IDs are also issued to Taiwanese nationals that take on the Dominican nationality.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...a-de-pais-en-la-cedula-de-identidad-II8569219


Corotos signs agreement for safe goods trading spots
The online portal corotos.com.do announced the signing of an agreement with Mail Boxes Etc so this company’s locations can be used for delivery of goods. Corotos’ clients had expressed concerns about strangers visiting their home to see or pick up a transacted item. Mail Boxes will also sell storage space for those advertising goods on the goods trading website.


Dominican bishops protest use of mobiles in church
The Conference of the Dominican Episcopate (CED) backs statements by Pope Francisco on the widespread use of mobile phones during church time. The local Catholic Church hierarchy says that they will consider what measures should be adopted here.

The bishops of Santo Domingo, Francisco Ozoria Acosta and Santiago, Freddy Breton Martinez, told Listin Diario that they share the pope’s concern. They feel that the celebration of Mass is a time for meditation and spiritual renewal and parishioners should leaving cell phones at home to avoid distractions.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...ponen-a-uso-celulares-en-servicios-religiosos
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/12/nyregion/phones-in-church-pope-francis.html


Attorney General talks about the JCE and Odebrecht
The Attorney General, Jean Alain Rodríguez, has announced that he is waiting for the Chamber of Accounts, the government auditing department, to finish their report on the equipment used by the Central Electoral Board (JCE) for the vote count in the 2016 elections, before he begins to carry out his own department’s investigation. Rodríguez said that to date he is just evaluating information.

When asked about the Odebrecht case, he said that all those involved would have to face justice but that the investigation was ongoing and would be finished in January 2018, which was the time imposed by the judge for prosecutors to prepare the case.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...equipos-de-la-jce-para-realizar-investigacion


Trucker suspect of transporting 345 packages of cocaine
The Dominican Drug Control Agency (DNCD) reported it has seized a load of 345 packages of a white substance suspected of being cocaine. The substance was transported in a truck in the National District. Investigators are working to uncover the contractor of the load.

During the confiscation operation, the DNCD agents were accompanied by National District prosecutors. The driver was arrested and could be tried for violation of Drug Law 50-88. The substance was sent to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) to verify its content and weight.

In the case file, National District prosecutors says that the truck driver, Juan Gil (El Gordo) had been arrested in 2012 for transporting a cargo of 363.13 kilograms of cocaine.

http://www.dncd.gob.do/ocupan-345-paquetes-presumiblemente-cocaina-en-el-distrito-nacional/
http://eldia.com.do/chofer-de-camion-que-llevaba-alijo-de-cocaina-es-reincidente/


Dominicans running New York heroin
Special agent James J. Hunt, in charge of the New York Anti drug Agency (DEA), has said that New York is the major hub of heroin in the country.

In an interview with El Pais, the leading Spanish newspaper, he said that the mafia had lost control of the heroin business and that it was now being run by Colombians and Dominicans, who together had taken the business away from the Italian families. He explained, 40 years ago, heroin came from Europe, Sicily or Turkey and the mafia sold it to the African-Americans for resale. The mafia lost the business when the Colombians started to produce heroin in the 80s and 90s, and the price of the drug fell by half.

In 15 years time most of the key dealers had died or were imprisoned, and the Colombians then took over. They originally thought of using Mexicans as dealers but as they tended not to be on the streets, they used Dominicans instead. They then give the drugs to gangs of Dominicans for resale on the streets.

He explained that the Dominicans were buying the heroin from the Mexicans for between US$60,000 and US$70,000 a kilo, but that there was no real hierarchy and that the Dominicans were very fragmented.

He said that once they arrested three Dominican dealers in the Bronx, and confiscated four million dollars in cash and three kilos of heroin. The money was supposed to go to Mexico to be exchanged for heroin. He also said that in New York now they were intercepting ten times more heroin that 7 or 8 years ago.

https://elpais.com/internacional/2017/11/10/estados_unidos/1510346108_838867.html


Baby Astrid recovering from first surgery
Susana Gautreaux, spokesman for the Montero family, reported that baby Astrid Montero’s first surgery at the Boston Children’s Hospital has been successful. Gautreaux said that the medics were able to correct five congenital malformations. The baby is under constant observation as she recovers. The family set up a GoFundMe page and was able to collect pledges for US$106,000 towards the US$250,000 estimated medical bills at the hospital.


More rains forecast
The National Metereological Agency (Onamet) says that a passing trough associated with a frontal system will bring more rains nationwide as of Tuesday, 14 November 2017. The rains are expected to be more intense in the north, northeast, southeast, southwest, central mountain area and the border with Haiti. Flood alerts have been issued for the provinces of Espaillat, Duarte, La Vega, Samana, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Hato Mayor and El Seibo.


Yessica Oviedo and Yamilet Peña win gold in Bolivarian Games
48 kilos wrestler Yessica Oviedo delivered the Dominican Republic’s second gold medal in the Bolivarian Games when she defeated Eva González of Colombia in the regional sports games taking place 11-25 November in Santa Marta, Colombia. Oviedo had won bronze in 55 kilos in the 17th Bolivarian Games held in Peru in 2013. Oviedo had won silver in the Panamerican Wrestling Championship held this year in Brazil and 7th in the World Wrestling Championship held in Paris, France, this year.

Yamilet Peña, who had placed 5th in the 2012 London Olympic Games in vault, won the gold medal in vault.

As of 13 November 2017, the DR had won 12 medals, including 3 gold (two in wrestling and one in artistic gymnastics), 4 silver and 5 bronze.

https://www.juegosbolivarianos2017.com/torneo/esquema/3/torneo/20566
https://www.juegosbolivarianos2017.com/torneo/esquema/2/torneo/16625
https://www.juegosbolivarianos2017.com/torneo/esquema/2/torneo/16630
https://www.juegosbolivarianos2017.com/programacion_resultados/
https://www.juegosbolivarianos2017.com/medalleria/alias/home/