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Daily News - 10 May 2000
Duty free gifts for mom
The Dirección General de Aduanas, the local customs department announced that from 10 May to 30 May expatriate Dominicans will be allowed to import duty free gifts on occasion of Mother's Day, slated for Sunday, 28 May in the Dominican Republic. The tax-free facility only applies to Dominicans residing abroad who have not traveled to the DR in the past six months. Duty free gifts must have a value of US$1,000 or less. The measure is applicable at all ports of entry. Dominicans visiting on occasion of the 16 May election may also take advantage of the facility.
27 de Febrero Expressway overpasses
The government is allowing traffic on the second phase of the 27 de Febrero Expressway yesterday. The overpasses start at Leopoldo Navarro Street and end at Josefa Brea St., shortly before the connection to Duarte Bridge. The third phase of the Expressway calls for the completion of the remodelling of the Duarte Bridge and construction of a new bridge as well as the expansion of Las Americas Highway. The third phase will connect with the 27 de Febrero Expressway to expedite travel to the Las Americas International Airport and cities and resort areas East of Santo Domingo.
The second phase overpasses have a price tag of RD$649.6 million, according to the government. Government said the overpasses will represent savings of RD$500 million for users. Meanwhile, Santo Domingo Mayor Johnny Ventura promised to relocate the vendors under the overpass as soon as the public work is finished. Mayor Ventura (PRD) criticized that the government had inaugurated the overpass despite works pending to be completed underneath. Vendors, including many Haitians that have located their stalls under the Paris overpass near the Duarte Avenue give a detrimental Port-au-Prince-like look to that important commercial area.
Olympic Village could be located in eastern Santo Domingo
The president of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello confirmed a report in El Nacional yesterday that the Banco Popular Dominicano was finalizing the purchase of the lot on which the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic village would go up for RD$390 million. The lot is across from the BPD headquarters tower.
Engineering sectors had criticized the construction of the 700-apartment/eight 23-floor buildings on the lot, saying it was too small a lot. The Olympic Committee had favored the construction on the lot because it is diagonally across from the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, where most 2003 Santo Domingo Pan American sport competitions will take place.
Dr. Puello said that the Pan Am Games committee is considering other options, but had yet to meet with President Leonel Fernández on the matter.
While Olympic Committee executives had alleged that the village would be built by the private sector for sale after the Pan Am Games, serious doubts about the feasibility of finding buyers if the villa went up on the JF Kennedy lot surfaced.
The Listin Diario reports that the Olympic Village would go up on a large lot located near the V Centenario Horse Race Track. The US$12.5 million cost of the village would be financed with Venezuelan funds. Nelly Manuel Doñe, technical director of the 15th Pan American games confirmed this project is being discussed in an interview in the Listin Diario.
Alfredo Rodriguez Gallard, who heads a group of Venezuelan technicians that have worked on the project said that the government has discarded building new installations in the Juan Pablo Duarte park and that these will go up adjacent to the new olympic village. The lot near the racetrack is large enough to permit the construction of needed facilities for karate, tae kwon do, badminton, tennis, skeet, shooting, ping pong, horseback riding and other competitions. The government will repair existing installations at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center, such as the cycling track, Olympic stadium, gym, volleyball and judo pavilions, Olympic pool and build a baseball stadium. The Las Americas site will be but a 15-minute drive away from the Las Americas International Airport, main port of entry for those coming for the Santo Domingo Pan American Games.
Important intellectual property hearing set for 12 May
The director of the Oficina Nacional de Derecho Autor (national copyright office), Pedro Felix Montes de Oca and District Attorney Francisco Domínguez Brito will participate in the public hearing of the SGP subcommittee that is chaired by the US Trade Representative. The hearing will determine whether in due process unilateral sanctions regarding General System of Preferences and CBI duty free preferences should be levied onto the DR for violation of intellectual property rights. The DR has priority watch list status regarding intellectual property violations. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is the most active at present in presenting charges of violations of intellectual property rights. William Malamud, of the American Chamber of Commerce says that the gripe is not against Dominican companies that manufacture generic drugs whose patents have expired, but against "the Argentinean connection," or Argentinean companies that have set up operation in the DR. US pharmaceuticals allege these seek to use the DR as an export platform to Central America and the Caribbean, taking advantage of free trade agreements the DR has signed with these regions. He explained that Pharma is moving against the DR and not Argentina from where the alleged pirated active ingredients are exported because "it has more leverage over the DR than Argentina."
The DR benefits from US$44 million tax deductions under GSP and US$1,200 million under CBI.
Malamud explains that of 8,000 pharmaceutical (most products sold here have a generic counterpart) products, only 50 are under patent dispute, several manufactured by the Argentinean connection. The position is that the Executive Branch original bill was modified in Congress to accommodate the interests of the Argentinean local lobby and not those of the US lobby. The bill is pending approval by President Leonel Fernández.
The DR defense will have 15 minutes to present its case, versus 45 minutes allotted to those who accuse the DR of violations. The DR bases its defense on major progress made to combat intellectual property copyright violations in the DR. These include the massive destruction of pirated movie videos which has resulted in the closing down of video stores that sold pirated copies. Likewise, the District Attorney has worked hard and anti-software illegal raids have been carried out. The District Attorney's office has worked closely with the Software Business Alliance channeling grievances through the local justice system. Major strides have also been taken in the updating of Dominican laws and improvement of Dominican justice.
The new Intellectual Property Bill was also expected to be a step forward in regulating intellectual property rights. The DR defense says that the US Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association is presenting a distorted view of the actual situation.
Sectors in the DR ask why the US Pharmaceutical Association has not channeled their grievances against individual violators through the justice system, such as the Software Business Alliance has done in the DR with much success and cooperation from local authorities, such as the District Attorney's office.
Other Dominican government representatives at this meeting are Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Angel Canó and Rodolfo Espiñeira, director of the department of industrial and commercial registrations. Dominican ambassador before the World Trade Organization, Federico Cuello recently traveled to the DR to consult with the Dominican government on the nation's position at the hearing. Cuello has been emphatic about the validity of the new bill now under dispute.
The public hearing has been requested by the International Alliance for the Defense of Intellectual Property to the Department of Commerce of the United States will take place in the Conference Center of the White House. The government contracted the law firm Johnson, Rogers & Clifton to assist the Dominican delegation.
Taking time to rule on observed vote status
The Junta Central Electoral president, Manuel Ramón Morel says that it is taking its time to rule on observations that citizens whose photograph on their cedula and that on the voting list are different be required to vote in the "observed" modality. Traditionally, observed votes are not counted, thus Participación Ciudadana civic movement, the PLD, the PRSC, former JCE judge Juan Sully Bonelly, and OAS observers have expressed their opposition to this ruling. All concur that citizens cannot be penalized for the JCE's technical problems. This situation affects about 35,000 voters.
Substitute judge chosen
The Senate chose Fe Caridad Vargas de Domínguez as substitute judge for Judge Julio Cesar Castaños Guzmán. PRSC party leader Joaquin Balaguer had sent the Congress a letter presenting three candidates: Prim Pujals, Kathleen Martinez Contreras and Fe Caridad Vargas. Vargas is a graduate of the State University (UASD) law school and has been a judge.
Former presidents coming to observe election
The Junta Central Electoral said that five former statesmen will be in Santo Domingo to observe the 16 May presidential election. These are Belisario Betancourt, Colombia; Luis Herrera Campins, Venezuela; Felipe González, Spain; Armando Calderón, El Salvador; and César Gaviria, Colombia. Cesar Gaviria is coming in his condition of secretary general of the Organization of American States.
Police releases findings on 29 April murder
The Police commission in charge of investigating the 29 April murder in Moca that occurred during a political campaign event, sent to justice three members of the security of PRD presidential candidate Hipolito Mejia accusing these of firing at two PLD militants that died during the incident. Included among those sent to justice is a former colonel of the Dominican Air Force. General Manuel Almonte Lluberes, who presided the commission, identified the suspect murderers of Luis Terrero Gil and Antonio Peñaló Hilario as former Air Force colonel Manuel Jesus Figuereo Felix, Benedicto Rivas, and Francisco Enrique Peña Segura. Reports say that Figuereo Feliz is detained in Santiago, Rivas was transferred to the Santo Domingo Police headquarters and an arrest order is out for Peña Segura who has not been located.
General Almonte discarded that the bullet marks that the jeep on which PRD presidential candidate Mejía rode were due to an attempt against his life. The Police commission rejected allegations that the PRD security people fired in self-defense. "There were sporadic individual manifestations of citizens making signals contrary to the party," said the police. "In the political effervescence, members of the security fired and later others did so," said General Almonte. Commission members were Colonel Rafael Calderon Efres, regional director of the Central Cibao region; Rafael Bencosme Candelier, director de criminal investigations for the Police; and colonels José Cohén Andújar and Alberto Bienvenido Olivo, as well as Dr. Fermin Casilla Minaya, assistant to the Attorney General.
The commission defended the attitude of Colonel Luis Rodriguez Florimón who acted immediately to defend the safety of the presidential candidate Hipólito Mejía when the shootout took place.
Regarding the injuries PRSC followers Ramon Leonardo Rodriguez and Carlos Manuel Reynoso suffered on the same day, the commission determined that Francisco Enrique Peña Segura (who appears shooting in a video presented by the PLD) is the principal suspect as well as accomplice Benedicto Rivas Arias.
Three Dominicans die in ship tragedy
Three Dominican stowaways died due to the intense heat inside freight containers of the Seaboard Caribe ship that is on its way to Miami from Santo Domingo, according to the spokesperson of the US migration department. Four others survived the trip after being discovered. Four survivors made it to the US and would be arrested by the US Migration upon the ship's arrival to Miami today.
Holland America cruise ship to dock in Santo Domingo
Listin Diario reports that Holland America cruiseline's ship, MS Veendam will touch port on Saturdays in Santo Domingo as of October. The ship will also visit Barbados, Martinique, St. Martin, St. Thomas and San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information, call 732-0540.
Los Toros Band at the National Theater
"El Merengue se Viste de Gala" is the name of the show Hector Acosta and his Los Toros Band will be presented at the National Theater of Santo Domingo. The Santo Domingo Philharmonic Orchestra in the 12-13 May presentations will accompany him. Joseito Mateo, Jose el Calvo, el Cieguito de Nagua and Miriam Cruz will be guest performers in the show. Amaury Sanchez is the director of the presentation. Los Toros Band leader, Hector Acosta said that this presentation is one of the biggest challenges his group has ever faced.
Free origami workshop
Thesaurus Book Store, located at Sarasota with Abraham Lincoln, is offering an origami workshop with Tío José (Jose Rafael Sosa) on Saturday, 13 May at 5 pm. This is an excellent afternoon activity for parents and children. Those attending will be taught how to make paper airplanes. For more information, call Tel. 508-1114. Or email thesaurus@codetel.net.do
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