President Leonel Fernandez formally inaugurated 120 apartments and 46 houses in three different municipalities in the province of Monte Plata yesterday. The cost of the construction was an estimated RD$107 million for all the housing that was used during the 13th annual National Games in Monte Plata held earlier this year and formally assigned to new owners, that included athletes winning medals in the sports games, in the ceremony yesterday. The inauguration was festive as the President made his arrival to the rhythm of merengues that were allusive to his remaining in power, as reported by Listin Diario.
The Armed Forces have unveiled a new communications system that includes 16 towers located in Santo Domingo, Alto Bandera, Pedernales, Dajabon, Jimani, Montecristi, Peravia and Higuey. The new system is called Integrated Network Dominican Republic (REINTERED) and cost a total of US$30 million. It consists of a combination of a military communications system for tactical and strategic integration at various levels, which allows for communication in winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour. The project, which was started in 1997, is completely computer-run and includes voice graphics, data and facsimile, and is said to be easy to maintain. Italian company SELEX built the system and Ramon Aquino Diaz, Secretary of the Armed Forces, was quoted in Diario Libre as saying that the network will allow for uninterrupted communications during emergencies.
In related news, French military forces have arrived at Las Calderas naval base in Peravia province, in order to commence military activities alongside Dominican military personnel. Planned exercises include emergency evacuation tactics and launching of ground-to-sea missiles.
Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez (PLD-National District) commented yesterday that the government does not have to agree with all the International Monetary Funds's recommendations about fiscal reforms that are calling for increases in the ITBIS (VAT), and that the President will make that clear on Tuesday. Perez, who is quoted in El Caribe newspaper, said that any policies that a government puts forward should reflect the realities of the population. Last night, Perez along with other members of the PLD party and the PLD's political committee met with President Fernandez at the Presidential Palace. Former VP Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal was there, as was former Presidential Minister Danilo Medina, who resigned earlier this week. According to Listin Diario, Pared Perez denied that Medina had attended the meeting and claimed that Fernandez Mirabal's presence was a coincidence. There was no real word on what was discussed during the meeting, but Perez said that these included the PLD's internal matters.
After a long session yesterday the Chamber of Deputies approved the bills and modifications to laws needed for the country's entry into DR-CAFTA in consecutive readings and the possibility that the DR-CAFTA comes into effect by December of this year is quickly becoming a real possibility. Because modifications were made to the bills passed earlier in the Senate, the bills now return to the Senate for final approval, according to the Listin Diario. Though the decision to join DR-CAFTA had become law back in 6 August 2004, these new bills and changes to laws had to be approved and long delays in the process delayed the country's entrance into the free trade agreement with the US and Central America for many months. Delegations from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce made several trips to the United States in order to discuss the issues that were delaying the process. The bills passed yesterday by the Chamber of Deputies included modification to Law 20-00 on Industrial Property, which is now resolved by Chapter 15 of the free trade agreement. Also passed are laws on patents and brand names, and there has been a change to article 32 of the Penal Code, which now allows for the prosecution of crimes dealing with patents and brand names. Law 65-00 on Intellectual Property, Law 173 on Foreign Firms in the country, which allows for beneficial treatment for US companies in the country, Law 226-00, which gives autonomy to customs, and the Telecommunications Law were all approved by the Chamber. Diario Libre reports that the Deputies also passed a bill on bribery at national and international level. This bill states that anyone holding public office who is found to have received bribes in exchange for favors could face two to five years in jail and double the amount of the bribe, promised or received.
The Chamber of Deputies has rejected a plan to regulate the interest rates on credit cards, because according to Deputy Marino Collante the proposed regulation that would oblige banks to charge interest rates only on the actual pending balance and not on the total credit used in the month would be an infringement of the Monetary Law, which can only be reformed by the Monetary Board. At present, banks do not take into consideration partial payments made on debt, when levying monthly interest rate charges. Article 24 of the Monetary Law says that interest rates on transactions in Dominican and foreign currency will be determined by those institutions. Diario Libre writes that the Monetary Board has however passed a Protection Regulation to protect users from abusive clauses in financial service contracts.
Alcohol producers met with Presidential Technical Secretary Temistocles Montas yesterday to discuss the possibility of further taxing alcoholic beverages. The government has announced that the tax on alcoholic beverages will be fixed, regardless of alcohol content. Currently alcohol in the DR is taxed according to percentage. Producers in the country are concerned that this new tax on beverages will be in addition to the current alcohol grade taxation, which would in fact equal a double tax on the beverages. Montas kept a tight lip on the situation because, as Diario Libre reports, he neither agreed nor denied the possibility of double taxation. All Montas did was increase anxiety among producers when he told them that they, and the public, should wait until next Tuesday, when the President will explain the details of the fiscal reform. Speaking on the subject of the fiscal reform yesterday, Montas also clarified that the IMF had never presented a proposal for the fiscal reform, but had submitted a "cocktail" of options that the government could use for the fiscal reform.
Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez has announced the arrest of five people who have admitted to killing two Taiwanese students and injuring four other students and a police officer, in an ambush in Bonao last Saturday. The two students, Hoo Cheng Yin (22) and Gon Cheng Juey (19) and their colleagues were working on their farm, on the 79th kilometer of the Duarte highway, last Saturday when they were ambushed by the accused, according to Diario Libre. Originally police thought that the motive for the murders was revenge for an incident that had occurred days before but Santana has announced that the motive was theft. The accused men, who were arrested in Punta, Villa Mella, were found to have a Nokia camera, a shaving machine and a bag, all of which belonged to the students. El Caribe newspaper also reports that the accused were in possession of a Toyota Prado, which had been stolen in Santiago, and was used as a getaway vehicle. Santana is quoted in Diario Libre as saying that "we have done our job, now it's up to the judicial authorities to fulfill their public duty."
Lawyer Maria Magdalena Zorrilla has been arrested in Santiago for allegedly conning businesspeople out of more than RD$100 million, according to Diario Libre. Zorrilla was given the money in order to complete informal financial obligations for her clients, but never carried out the work or returned the money. One of Zorrilla's victims, Juan Ramon Carrasco, filed a complaint through his lawyer. His suspicions were aroused when Zorrilla didn't go to her office where she had worked at for six years and stopped returning phone calls for two days.
Diario Libre reports that police have rescued eight Venezuelans who were being held hostage at the Hotel Kay by Rafael Vidal Feliz and his wife Miosotis Mora, and that the couple had been aided by a member of the National Police, Emmanuel Tavarez Adames. All persons will be charged with human trafficking and illegal trafficking of immigrants. Police say that the eight Venezuelans were brought to the country in order to work at the "Bar & Grill Tu y Yo," but according to the Venezuelans they were made to work as prostitutes at the establishment, which is located at No. 113 Avenue Tiradentes in Santo Domingo, and has been temporarily closed by police.
A jewelry store in Santo Domingo's Piantini neighborhood was robbed at 9am yesterday by thieves dressed as police officers, according to a report in Listin Diario. The thieves tied up the owner and left with more than half a million dollars in money and jewels. "George" jewelry store, owned by George Echavarria, was the scene of the crime at 16, Calle Julio Aybar in Piantini. Echavarria described the events, saying that the men came in dressed as officers, wearing bulletproof vests. Some employees were placed on the floor, some were put in a back room, and some were held at gunpoint and forced to reveal where the cash and jewels were held. No word on the whereabouts of the suspects has been released.
The Dominican Chamber of Accounts has been chosen as a member of the management committee for the Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS), which is currently meeting in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, as reported by El Caribe newspaper. Hoy newspaper reports that the duration of the post will be for two years, ending on 1 January 2009. Maximo Castillo Salas, who heads the Chamber, says that with the appointment the DR increases its participation in an organization that supervises transparency and the adequate management of public funds.
OLACEFS, an autonomous, independent and non-political organization, gathers supervising bodies of Latin America and of the Caribbean. It is aimed at the improvement of concepts and procedures of governmental control in the continent, by means of the exchange of experiences, technologies and ideas and in compliance with the legislation of the nations involved.
The Dominican Republic has improved, if only by a hair, its position on the Human Development Index (HDI) List. The list, which was presented yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa, placed the DR in 94th position out of 177 countries, with an HDI of 0.751. Last year the country was 95th on the list, and rankings are based on statistics from 2004, according to Hoy newspaper. The Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) of Dominicans increased by 9% in the year and many believe that the slight climb on the list is due to the strengthening of the economy, according to a report in Listin Diario. The country however is still not up to par on educational standards, as demonstrated by the list, and that overall the DR still lags behind indicators from other countries in the region when it comes to poverty, education and health. The HDI is a compilation of comparative measures such as life expectancy, literacy, education and living standards. The report is released as part of the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report.
See http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/
The Baseball Players Association has named Dominican-born Albert Pujols its "Man of the Year" for his contributions to baseball and his community. The award is given every year to a player from either the American or National League to a player whose on and off the field performance inspires others to do their best. Pujols has started his own foundation, "The Pujols Family Foundation," that works with Downs syndrome children in the DR and in the US. Pujols' adopted daughter Isabella has Downs, but Pujols says that she is normal, and is able to do the things he and his other child do. Pujols is a strong candidate to win this year's Most Valuable Player award.
The Tigres del Licey continue their winning ways as they stay atop the Winter League baseball standings with a record of 13-6. The have showed promise this year with a strong start. The Gigantes are behind by two games in the standings with an overall record of 11-8. The Leones del Escogido have also started out the season with flair as they are in third place with an overall record of 10-9, three games out of first place. Rounding out things out is the surprising early season disappointment of from the Aguilas del Cibao posting a losing record of 9-10, leaving them four games out of first. Not so surprising is the Estrellas with a losing record of 8-11, five games out. And the lowly Azucareros, with a dismal record of 6-13, are seven games out of first. Looks like another early winter vacation for the Azucareros and the Estrellas.
Tonight's games:
Escogido vs. Estrellas at Estadio Quisqueya at 7:30pm,
Licey vs. Aguilas at 8pm at Estadio Cibao,
Gigantes vs. Azucareros 7:30pm at Estadio Francisco Michelli.
Tomorrow night:
Escogido vs. Licey 7:30pm at Estadio Quisqueya,
Aguilas vs. Gigantes 7:30pm at Estadio Julian Javier,
Estrellas vs. Azucareros 7:30pm at Estadio Francisco Micheli.
For more events, see http://www.dr1.com/calendar
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