DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) majority Chamber of Deputies has passed a controversial bill in its second reading that authorizes the government to pay state contractors for public works executed without formal contracts. A similar bill benefiting 571 contractors had been vetoed by the Presidency. The bill orders the government to pay millions for work that did not comply with government procedures.

The bill received the positive vote of 96 PRM deputies, a majority for its passing.

What is different in the new bill is that while the previous bill recognized the debts of 571 contractors and ordered their payment, the new bill creates a commission that is required to review each claim before authorizing the payments.

This legislation, defended by the PRM as a way to settle inherited debts from previous administrations, has been labeled a “blank check”...