DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 11 April 2018

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May 3, 2000
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President Medina inaugurates a Chinese company’s plant
CABEI lends funds for Monte Grande dam
Taxation Agency making progress to collect taxes on two job employees
Central Bank prepares Household Expenses Survey
Canadian government interested in resuming Guajimia Creek project
Cement sales fall
US$300 million fine for Duquesa if prosecutors don't pursue charges?
Ombudswoman: Dominicans need to help build public hospitals in Haiti
Public Ministry seeks 20 years against Matías Avelino Castro for murder of Jose Silvestre
Police hunt for Spaniard in 19-year old murder case
More revelations in Emely Peguero case
Security truck attacked, RD$36 million stolen
Murder suspect, Argenis Contreras to return to the country
Brother of murdered Yuniol Ramírez says strategy seeks to liberate Manuel Rivas
Caribbean Club Shield Football in Santiago
Father Meninger returns for local talk on silence and pardon


President Medina inaugurates a Chinese company’s plant
President Danilo Medina has inaugurated a modern aluminum manufacturing plant in the Industrial Free Zone Rio Sur. Kington Aluminio is the first investment manufacturing business of People’s Republic of China in the Dominican duty free zone tax regime, a milestone for the Dominican Republic. The new company, a RD$530 million investment, will have 1,400 new employees.

Operations’ director for the company, Quinquin Zheng said that the decision and strategy behind the business was to create aluminum for the construction business. The investment comes as part of a business decision seeking vertical integration, good geo-political location, attractive economic and commercial conditions plus the advantages of free zone regime and the DR CAFTA trade agreement.

Media reports say that three other Chinese companies await for permits to invest another US$870 million in electricity and construction projects in the country, according to Fu Xinrong, commercial representative of China in the Dominican Republic.

Since the Dominican Republic maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the People’s Republic of China has a commercial office in the country.

https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...ugura-moderna-industria-de-aluminio-NG9594834
http://eldia.com.do/empresas-chinas...ertir-us870-millones-en-republica-dominicana/


CABEI lends funds for Monte Grande dam
The government has taken out a loan with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) to carry out the third phase of the Monte Grande multipurpose dam on the Yaque del Sur riverbed that will cost USD$249.6 million. The loan agreement was signed by Finance Minister Donald Guerrero Ortiz representing the Dominican state and Alejandro Rodríguez Zamora, executive vice president of CABIE.

The loan will enable the construction, located in the province of Barahona, to be completed and will guarantee the irrigation of 18,936 hectares. The agricultural production will be improved through irrigation from the new dam.

In addition to water for agricultural irrigation, Monte Grande will also increase the supply of drinking water, control floods, contribute towards the generation of electricity and develop aquaculture and tourism activities.

The works will generate more than 2,500 direct jobs during the construction phase, 12,500 new permanent jobs in agriculture and enable more than 1,500 indirect jobs to be created in non-agricultural activities.

It will take three years to complete and will be carried out by the National Institute of Hydrological Resources (INDHRI).

During the signing of the agreement, also present were Olgo Fernández, director of INDHRI and senators Eddy Fernando Mateo of Barahona and Manuel Antonio Paula of Bahoruco, as well as the director of BICE for the Dominican Republic, Clara Quiñones and Rodrigo Vargas, director general for Andrade Gutierrez in the Dominican Republic.

https://www.bcie.org/en/news/news/article/cabei-funds-drive-major-project-in-the-dominican-republic/


Taxation Agency making progress to collect taxes on two job employees
The Taxation Agency (DGII) has assured that of the 1,500 people who reported this year that they received income from different jobs, 631 have been regularized their situation, or 40% of the total.

The number of those with multiple jobs represents 0.08% of the approximately 1.8 million citizens employed, according to the Social Security registers.

Via a press release, the DGII informed that while in 2012 some 1,500 people had reported that they had more than one job, rising to 3,000 in 2016 of those indicating to having received more than one salary and who reported it correctly.

Every year the DGII reports the ceiling for non-taxable wages. Those receiving more than that income, notwithstanding working for an organized business, need to report on the total sum. DGII systems in the past have not detected the irregularity whereby many persons who held two jobs with individual wages below the income ceiling did not pay taxes on the difference. Now the DGII is informing these workers that they have to pay up.

https://listindiario.com/economia/2...ersonas-con-mas-de-un-salario-se-han-regulado


Central Bank prepares Household Expenses Survey
The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic has announced that the National Survey of Household Expenses and Income began in January 2018, with the objective of capturing statistical information about the distribution of spending of Dominican families as well as the amount and source of the income of the population.

Director of the Department of National Accounts and Economic Statistics of the Bank, Ramón González said that the carry out the research the Monetary Board approved a budget of RD$1.5 million.

The bank said that the survey is one of the most important statistical measures carried out by the country every 10 years, based on international recommendations, and it is crucial that the Dominican homes collaborate with it.

The research will survey a sample of 11,664 homes, which began in January this year and will continue for several weeks more. Around 159 people are involved in conducting the survey, and the results will be published around six months after its completion.

https://www.bancentral.gov.do/noticias/notas_bc/archivos/Presentacion_ENGIH.pdf


Canadian government interested in resuming Guajimia Creek project
The director of the Santo Domingo Water and Sewage Corporation (CAASD) and Canadian Ambassador Shauna Hemingway visited the area of the Guajimia Creek in Santo Domingo West for talks on the second phase of the sanitary megaproject that would benefit 300,000 persons. This would be the second phase of the project to condition the waterway that floods during the rainy season creating a dangerous situation for the health of the hundreds of thousands that live in the area surrounded by poor neighborhoods with a dense population living without basic sanitary services.

The government of Canada had backed a first phase implemented by the Canadian engineering firm Dessau-Soprin of Canada. A second phase calls for an investment of more than US$138 million.

Back in 2006, the Santo Domingo Water and Sewer Corporation (CAASD) started cleaning up the Guajimia Creek and its tributaries, thanks to a US$83 million loan from the Canadian government. The project also called for the construction of 208 apartments for the residents of the Guajimia watershed. For more than 30 years the residents of the area have watched as the creek filled with garbage and other waste, and their homes have flooded after every rainstorm.

The cleanup benefits over 200,000 people in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Santo Domingo, like Herrera, Buenos Aires, Alameda, Juan Pablo Duarte, La Altagracia, La Rosa, Las Caobas and the area surrounding the Santo Domingo Country Club.

The Guajimia Creek is 13.58 kilometers long and drains into the Haina River to the west of Santo Domingo. It is the principal watershed and drainage for western Santo Domingo.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ciudad/buscan-ampliar-el-proyecto-guajimia-CJ9586015


Cement sales fall
Dominican cement producers saw a 3.7% fall in domestic sales and a 5% decline in exports in the January-February 2018 period, according to the president of the Dominican Association of Cement Producers (Adocem), Raisa J. Rodríguez.
Rodriguez attributed the contraction in the domestic market to periods of unusual rains.

In addition, she highlighted the industry’s commitment to sustainability. The Dominican Republic currently has seven cement plants, of which six are operational. Its total cement capacity stands at 0.866Mta.

https://www.cemnet.com/News/story/163838/dominican-cement-sales-down-4-exports-fall-5-.html


US$300 million fine for Duquesa if prosecutors don't pursue charges?
PRM legislator Waldys Taveras is warning that time is running out for the Attorney General to activate the case concerning fraud involving the property where the Duquesa garbage dump is located. If the Attorney General does not proceed with the corresponding accusations, the Dominican Republic could lose a US$300 million judgment to the prior operators of the dump, Lajun.

There is mounting evidence that proves the company’s claim to the land is fraudulent, but if the Attorney General does not follow suit, the Duquesa operators would practically win the suit placed by the company in a Florida court by default.

Taveras is the executive director of the secretariat for municipal affairs of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), the country’s leading opposition party. He said the country could be sentenced to pay US$300 million to Lajun if the persons involved in the irregular purchase of the land are not sent to justice. Lajun has taken the Dominican government to court for illegal dispossession of property in the international court.

Taveras is a former councilor for the National District. He reported he deposited at the Attorney General Office on Friday, 6 April 2018 an instance where he alleges that on 19 December the owner of Lajun had notified the President of the Republic, the Ministry of Industry & Commerce and the Attorney General Office of the start of the case abroad for alleged dispossession of private property.

Taveras recalls that on 26 December 2016, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez had reported he had assigned a high-level commission to investigate the claim made by a legislator that the documents that were used for the alleged purchase of the Duquesa garbage dump lands were forged and that despite the passing of three years no results are known about the investigation into the irregularities in the purchase of State Sugar Council (CEA) lands for the garbage dump.

"There is no legal action by the State Sugar Council (CEA), the Attorney General of the Republic, Santo Domingo North City Council, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Senate of the Republic, powers and institutions of the state with the right to file legal actions for having been affected by the fraudulent actions," he alerted.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ciudad/advierte-el-pais-se-expone-a-demanda-FJ9586124


Ombudswoman: Dominicans need to help build public hospitals in Haiti
Ombudswoman Zoila Martinez proposes that funds be donated for the construction of three hospitals in Haiti to serve the large numbers of women who come to give birth in the Dominican public hospitals.

In a paid advertisement, Martinez says that it would be preferable if all Dominicans who can, national and transnational companies located in the country and international cooperation entities create a fund so that an agreement can be reached between the Dominican Republic and Haiti for the construction in Haiti of the hospitals to serve the Haitian population. She says two maternity-pediatrics hospitals are needed and one general hospital. She said the Dominican Republic would assist in the initial staffing doctors of the medical centers. “With that contribution we would be reduce the risk of transmitting of contagious diseases from one country to another,” she said.

She also called for the construction of a second public hospital in Santo Domingo West. She says that the Marcelino Velez is operating at more than capacity.

http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...r-dinero-para-construir-hospitales-haiti.html


Public Ministry seeks 20 years against Matías Avelino Castro for murder of Jose Silvestre
The Public Ministry is asking for a 20 year sentence for Matías Avelino Castro, accused in the murder of journalist José Silvestre in San Pedro de Macorís in a drug related crime. The Public Ministry has had to pursue the case without the cooperation of the victim’s family. Castro is accused of violation of articles 265, 266, 295, 296, 297, 298 of the Criminal Code and Law 72-02 on Asset Laundering and Law 8-92 on identity. The Public Ministry is also seeking a payment of restitution equivalent to 250 minimum wages.

Silvestre was murdered in 2011, but seven years later, the court case has not concluded.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...astro-acusado-del-asesinato-de-jose-silvestre


Police hunt for Spaniard in 19-year old murder case
According to the police, a 50-year old Spanish immigrant, the main suspect in the murder of his 19 year old Dominican partner in Cabarete, Sosua, arrived in tears at the police station to report her disappearance and joined with the Police and her family members in searching for her.

David Toribio Vives apparently made a very dramatic plea for help, and was crying uncontrollably asking for help to locate Alida Margó Lagares Nelson.

The body of the young woman was later found in the cistern in his residence in Perla Marina in Cabarete. According to the medical examiner it showed signs of violence on her neck and face.

Having made his dramatic plea for help, the Spaniard then disappeared and is currently being sought by police in the province of Puerto Plata and as far afield as Santiago.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...panol-acusado-de-matar-pareja-fingio-busqueda


More revelations in Emely Peguero case
The media continues to report on testimony by Simón Bolívar Ureña “El Boli, ” the man hired by the family to hide the corpse of 16-year old Emely Peguero has declared to the court that Marlin Martínez, mother of Marlon, the main accused of the murder of Emely Peguero, did not want the body of the teenager to be found. He said that Marlin Martinez did not want the body found as she was concerned her son would be killed in jail.

“El Boli” testified that despite having promised several times to him and her brother that she would hand over her son and the body of the girl, she only complied with the first part.

The body of the teenager was later found on a road in Cayetano Germosen, a week after the brutal murder.

Throughout the whole process, “El Boli” has defended Henry Martinez, Marlin’s brother, saying he was the person who convinced Marlin to give up her son, saying nothing would happen to him in jail.

However, Henry is in preventive custody for three months, accused of helping to hide the body and criminal association.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...rlin-ella-queria-que-el-cadaver-no-apareciera


Security truck attacked, RD$36 million stolen
Unknown assailants attacked a security truck in the community of Las Charcas, in Azua, and escaped with more than RD$36 million, according to the police. The truck, belonging to the company G4S reportedly was intercepted in a place known as La Curva de Villeya by assailants. The security guards told investigators that the thieves were dressed in camouflage gear with emblems of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) and the Central Criminal Investigation Unit (Dicrim).

The police say they have arrested several people, including the three security guards who were in the vehicle. The investigation are being led by General Luis Arturo Pujols, director of Dicrim. Dicrim. The Dicrim told reporters yesterday that they instead suspect the G4S company guards are behind the robbery. These are 36-year old Manuel Ysaia Pérez Santos, 50-year old Ruddy Cerrano, and 51-year old Nélcido Féliz Fernández. The whereabouts of the money is unknown.

http://eldia.com.do/policia-dice-vi...-cometieron-autorrobo-pero-dinero-no-aparece/


Murder suspect, Argenis Contreras to return to the country
Fugitive of justice, Argenis Contreras, the man accused of the murder of the lawyer and university professor Yuniol Ramírez, left the Dominican Republic to hide in the home of Lucas Tobia Ortega Duarte, a relative of his, who lives in New Jersey, USA, according to recent media coverage of the murder.

As investigations unfold, the Public Prosecution Service said they are asking for coercive measures against Ortega Duarte, Víctor Elisander Raverlo Campos (El Herrero) and Jorge Luis Abreu Fabián (El DJ and/or El Taxista), who were arrested over the weekend, and have their hearing on coercive measures set for Thursday, 11 April 2018. According to the Public Prosecution Service, Ortega Duarte lied about Contreras’ whereabouts when questioned by the United States Immigration Service and to Interpol. He has been charged with obstruction of justice early in the investigation.

Contreras’ lawyer, Carlos Bálcacer, said his defendant will return to the country next week. He said he departed on 12 October 2017 by way of Las Americas International Airport, fearing for his life. Balcácer says that two police instead killed Ramírez to steal RD$3 million that allegedly would have been paid to Ramírez for him to desist from a legal case against Manuel Rivas of the OMSA state bus entity for corruption.

Balcacer has met with Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez, head prosecutor for Santo Domingo province Olga Diná Llaverías and assistant prosecutor Juan Alcántara to program the date and time Contreras will be handed over. The Public Prosecution service has assured his safety.

In a new development, it was known that prosecutors would request pre-trial custody for Heidy Peña, wife of Argenis Contreras. She is accused of hiding the Ford Ranger in the interior of which allegedly the corpse of Yuniol Ramírez was hidden prior to the disposal of the body. Her lawyer, Carlos Balcácer says there is not sufficient evidence to incriminate Peña.

http://eldia.com.do/balcacer-se-reune-en-procuraduria-para-coordinar-entrega-de-argenis/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...tio-a-las-autoridades-de-eeuu-y-a-la-interpol
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...on-para-esposa-de-argenis-contreras-YD9603890
http://eldia.com.do/abogado-garantiza-argenis-se-entregara/


Brother of murdered Yuniol Ramírez says strategy seeks to liberate Manuel Rivas
A brother of the murdered lawyer Yuniol Ramírez says that recent actions and statements by the lawyer of lead suspect Argenis Contreras is part of a strategy to free former director of the Metropolitan Bus Services Office (OMSA) Manuel Rivas, a suspect in the crime. Ramón Ramírez, brother of Yuniol, and a lawyer himself, suspects this is the strategy of Carlos Balcácer, legal representative of fugitive Argenis Contreras. The murder occurred in October 2017. Ramírez was investigating corruption at the OMSA.

Ramírez says it is not something new to say that some 15 persons participated in the murder. He said there were three vehicles, each with three persons on board, in the area where the crime was committed. Ramírez made his statements on La Super 7 en la Mañana (107.7FM). He suspects the former director of Omsa is paying the high bills of criminal lawyer Carlos Balcácer. He says that Argenis Contreras could not afford to retain him.

Ramirez says a public relations campaign is underway to discredit his brother and confuse the general public who following the case.

http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...ntencion-desvincular-manuel-rivas-crimen.html


Caribbean Club Shield Football in Santiago
The Caribbean Club Shield football tournament, organized by the Football Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) Championship, is taking place at the Cibao FC stadium at the PUCMM and the sports field of the Universidad ISA, both in Santiago de los Caballeros. Twelve regional champion football clubs are participating in the tournament from 13-21 April 2018.

The participating teams are: SV Deportivo Nacional (Aruba), Weymouth Wales FC (Barbados), SV Real Rincón (Bonaire), Bodden Town FC (Cayman Islands), RKSV Centro Dominguito (Curacao), Hard Rock Sports Club (Grenada), USR Sainte-Rose (Guadeloupe), Guyana Defence Force (Guyana), Club Franciscain (Martinique), Cayon FC (St. Kitts & Nevis), Avenues United FC, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and the Inter Moengotapoe (Suriname).

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/04/...leta-primer-campeonato-caribbean-club-shield/
https://www.concacaf.com/


Father Meninger returns for local talk on silence and pardon
William Meninger is back in the Dominican Republic for a talk on pardon and silence. La Casa de Silencio y Oracion Centrante announces the conference “Proceso del Perdon” with Father William Meninger. Father Meninger is an American Trappist monk who is a noted spiritual teacher and the developer of Centering Prayer, a method of prayer with followers around the world. He is based at the St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. For information at 809 548-6580
https://contemplativeprayer.net/