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Daily News - 15 February 2001
Boost to Police reform
President Hipolito Mejia issued yesterday several decrees that advance the reform of the police force. The police reform project has been contemplated for years, but had barely got off to a concrete start until now. The decrees feature new mandates for the use of public force, transfer the traffic police to the Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET), and the responsibility for the custody of the jails to the Attorney General office (Procuraduria General de la Republica). The President also ordered the preparation of a ruling for the use of public force in special circumstances, ordered the creation of the Social Security Institute for the Police, and the Human Dignity Institute of the Police. The latter will train the force to act without prejudice and discrimination and adhere to human rights. The new dispositions should go into effect in 90 days.
The decrees come as governmental response to the excess of force shown by the police to impede a march of Dominican Medical Association physicians to the National Congress to protest the social security bill.
Most all circles, including government sectors have rejected the repression by the Police.
The Medical Association called off a nationwide public hospital strike to protest the police action, but said it would continue efforts to seek that the bill be modified.
Bad news for the Santo Domingo Pan Am Games
Former President Joaquin Balaguer and several of his former architectural collaborators opposes the building of sports venues for the Santo Domingo Pan American Games on the premises of the Parque Mirador del Este. Under Balaguer administrations, most of the city's parks were built, including the Mirador del Este as part of a master plan to provide Santo Domingo with breathing and recreational spaces.
In a written communication signed by the influential former statesman, the opponents to the building of the sports facilities say that the areas were conceived as needed city green areas and that instead of tumbling trees to build the sports venues, more trees should be planted.
Originally, it was said that Balaguer had given his blessing to the proposal made by the Organizing Committee of the Games to build the facilities on park grounds. Now the document states differently, and could be fatal to the nation's keeping of the site of the Games. The Pan American Sports Organization has said that the DR must come through with what it has proposed and not make any more changes.
In the document, the opponents state that the city has a sacred commitment to protect the park as patrimony of all. The document expresses fear that the park would be harmed by the thousands of people the games venues would attract.
The Organizing Committee of the Games has proposed to build covered facilities for handball, gymnasium, table tennis, badminton, weight lifting and open courts for tennis, archery and hockey on grass. Likewise, an amphitheater would be built, the train repaired, two artificial lakes built, and recreational areas built.
Originally, the Organizing Committee had said the needed new facilities would go up adjacent to the V Centenario Race Track, later changing this site to the Mirador del Este Park.
The Organizing Committee of the Games expressed its surprise that Balaguer was now opposing the project. The Committee had commissioned engineer Bienvenido Martinez to explain the project to Balaguer, prior to its presenting the site of the additional sports venues to the Pan American Games Sports Organization. The organizing committee and Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas visited Balaguer. They said Balaguer gave his approval to the project.
"He has been told things that are not true," said Dr. Jose Joaquin Puello, president of the Organizing Committee. "I do not understand this change of attitude." Jose Joaquin Puello said that it is strange that Balaguer now opposes the project, as he is known as a coherent person. He said the project would use only 4% of the area to build the venues. In addition to Balaguer, others signing the document opposing using the Mirador del Este Park to build the sports facilities are architects Rafael Tomas Hernandez and Eugenio Perez Montas. Also Pedro Morales Troncoso and Guillermo Caram.
Vice President signs US$58 million loan for high schools
Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, who is also Minister of Education, signed a loan agreement with the Interamerican Development Bank in Washington yesterday. The IDB will lend US$58 million to improve public high school education. As part of the program, students that work and study at night, and rural area students, will receive educational bonuses of RD$600-RD$1,000 to stay in school. The program also contemplates the building of public high schools, and the possibility that will be open to older aged students to complete high school in two years instead of four.
The Vice President also announced the IDB gave its go ahead to a US$200 million quick disbursal loan that the Mejia administration will use for its social compensation package.
Revisions to ITBIS and advance sales tax laws
The Legal Advisor of the Presidency sent to the Congress bills that seek to reform the tariff and tax bills in effect since the start of the year. The bills would make health insurance plans exempt from paying the value added tax (ITBIS), and increases to RD$6 million a year the level of sales that would allow a company to not have to pay the 1.5% advance tax on gross sales now affecting businesses with sales of more than RD$2 million.
Educating the drivers of the future
The director of the Metropolitan Transport Authority, Onesimo Gonzalez, in an interview with El Siglo newspaper, emphasizes that the only way to combat the lack of prudence of Dominican drivers is by educating the new generations of drivers. He said that his department has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education to offer drivers education classes in grade school and high school all over the country. He said that likewise, they have signed an agreement with the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) to offer the Transit Management career. The 600 AMET traffic agents will also participate in continued education short courses at the university.
"Only teaching drivers ed to children can we be sure that in the future we will have law-abiding men and women, that can act with civism and preserve their own and others lives not because they fear the police but because they respect society," he said.
He announced that students will graduate from high school prepared to take the theory part of the driver's test.
He also announced that his department has its own Youth Amet, made up of teenagers 16 to 18 years old, that contribute to the ordering of traffic in schools.
Gonzalez also explained that his department is implementing new street changes to expedite traffic in Santo Domingo. He said that soon drivers will no longer be able to make a left turn (South-North direction) at the intersection of Winston Churchill with Jose Amado Soler, Roberto Pastoriza and 27 de Febrero. Likewise, coming soon is the prohibition to turn left at Avenida Lope de Vega and Jose Amado Soler.
Left turns along the Av. Francisco Jimenez Moya (South of Winston Churchill) will also be eliminated. His department recently banned turning left at Av. Maximo Gomez with Calle Mayor Valverde, at Av. Tiradentes between John F. Kennedy, San Martin and Plaza Naco.
Senate passes General Health Bill
The Senate passed its first reading of the General Health Bill. The Chamber of Deputies had already passed the bill, so only a second Senate reading is pending. President of the Senate, Ramon Alburquerque promised the second reading will be held and the bill passed when the Senate meets again. The legislature regulates health insurance plans and services. It also regulates the practice of medicine by foreigners.
Senate recognition for ambassadors of US and Japan
The Senate resolved to recognize the ambassadors of the United States and Japan, Charles Manatt and Masato Akasawa, respectively, for their services to the DR and contributions to better relations between both countries.
Temo after all didn't make it to PLD Committee in first round
In its electoral bulletin number two, with almost all the votes counted, the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana confirmed that former technical secretary of the Presidency in the Fernandez administration, Temistocles Montas did not make it into the Central Committee in the first round.
In fact, only 21 PLD members did, of a list of about 600 pre-selected aspirants to the 300 posts. A 50% vote was needed to make it into the Central Committee in the first round.
Those that made it are: Leonel Fernandez, Jaime David Fernandez, Danilo Medina, Jose Joaquin Bido Medina, Lidio Cadet, Felix Jimenez, Norge Botello, Euclides Gutierrez, Alejandrina German, Radhames Segura, Rafael Alburquerque, Franklin Almeyda, Jose Tomas Perez, Reinado Pared, Roberto Salcedo, Eduardo Selman, Cesar Pina Toribio, Miguel Cocco, Julian Serulle, Rafael Kasse Acta and Danilo Diaz. Those that did not receive 50% of the vote need to go to a second round. The Organizing Committee of the VI Congress Juan Bosch has not yet set the date of the second round. The congress is held to reorganize the party and better position it for the 2002 and 2004 municipal and presidential elections.
The PLD needs to choose 150 delegates for the National District, 12 for the foreign sections and 108 at municipal level. The outgoing Central Committee members will choose the other 30.
World class volleyball
This Friday, 16 February is the start of a world class women's volleyball tournament that will continue through 26 February in Santo Domingo. A "dream team" selection of professional US volleyball players will match the national volley ball team. The event is the I Independence Cup of Women's Volleyball. It will start at 5 pm at the Volleyball Pavilion of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center. The strategist of the US team is Giovani Guidetti, for years coach of the Italian national team. With him is Chinese Ping Cao, assistant coach. The Dominican national team is playing without three of its best players, that play in Italian and Spanish volleyball leagues.
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