DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 10 October 2017

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Ministry of Education: Let merit prevail in choosing of public school directors
Ministry of Environment confiscates tortoise shell jewelry
Puerto Plata skylift closed for maintenance
Santo Domingo cleans up, improvised dumps still a problem
Another medical strike
ACOP: Danilo Medina third most popular President
The DR is ranked second after Mexico in corruption in Latin American
Judge orders pre-trial custody for UASD student president Yimi Zapata
Arrested students are on UASD payroll
Parachutist dies during Air Force event
Alvarito Arvelo resigns from the Gobierno de la Mañana radio talk show
Rains on the way



Ministry of Education: Let merit prevail in choosing of public school directors
The Ministry of Education says educators will have to openly compete to be chosen to direct public schools districts. The 18 regional directors of the 105 school districts located nationwide had previously been handpicked, with politician and union members influence making the difference in the appointments. The new mechanism to be implemented by the Ministry complies with General Education Law 66-97, Art. 139.

The decision is part of efforts by the Ministry of Education, now under architect Andrés Navarro, to improve the quality of public education. The new appointments would be announced between December 2017 and January 2018, as reported in El Dia.

http://eldia.com.do/ministerio-de-e...curso-a-directores-regionales-y-de-distritos/


Ministry of Environment confiscates tortoise shell jewelry
The Ministry of the Environment announced the seizing several items made with tortoise shell (Eretmochelys imbricata) in different parts of the country. In a press release, the Ministry states that the confiscations were carried out in order to discourage the illegal sales of articles made from marine animals in danger of extinction.

The operations were carried out by technicians from the Biodiversity Department, the Deputy Ministry for Coastal and Marine Resources, the prosecution service for the defense of the environment and the provincial offices.

The confiscations took place after Ministry of Environment inspectors visited tourist gift shops in Juan Dolio, Guayacanes, and the city of San Pedro de Macorís. In San Pedro de Macorís, 85 pieces of tortoise jewelry (earrings, rings, necklaces and pendants) were seized.

Likewise, other Ministry of Environment inspections were carried out on the main streets in Puerto Plata, such as Beller, Antera Mota, Villanueva and Duarte. More than 15 establishments were visited and 15 pieces confiscated in Puerto Plata.

http://ambiente.gob.do/ministerio-d...operativos-de-decomiso-de-articulos-de-carey/


Puerto Plata skylift closed for maintenance
The Teleférico de Puerto Plata, one of the main attractions for national and international tourists, was closed for 20 days, after the ending of the Discover Puerto Plata event in Puerto Plata last week. The director general of the skylift, Rafael Núñez said the Teleférico has closed to public usage from 9-28 October to give time for routine annual maintenance.

The cable car takes visitors up the Isabel del Torres Mountain to the botanical gardens at its top. It has two stations and two cabins, each with capacity for 20 passengers. The skylift opened in 1975.


Santo Domingo cleans up, improvised dumps still a problem
National District City Hall reports collecting over 7,000 tons of garbage over the past weekend of 7-8 October 2017. The garbage collection service had suffered due to management problems at the Duquesa garbage dump. A press release from the city government said that more than 3,000 city hall employees participated along with 250 neighborhood groups to catch up with the trash collection tasks.

Mayor David Collado said that the capital city would return to being clean again. He said they had eliminated 18 improvised garbage dumps located in Don Bosco, Gascue, Kilometer 8, 8 1/2 and 12 of the Sánchez highway and in Quisqueya and Los Praditos neighborhoods.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep.../collado-dice-la-capital-recupera-su-limpieza


Another medical strike
The Dominican Medical Association (CMD) has ratified the call for a public hospital physician general strike for 48 hours across the whole country beginning Wednesday, 11 October 2017 and carrying on through Thursday, 12 October. The strike will affect public hospitals that will only be offering emergency service and attending critical patients during the work stoppage.

A press release states from the CMD says that the strike is called because the government has still not complied with the agreement for a salary increase for more than 5,000 public hospital doctors. The CMD says that hundreds of first year residents have not been paid for the past three months. Another reason for the strike is to protest the deterioration at the public hospitals.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...ratifican-huelga-para-este-miercoles-y-jueves


ACOP: Danilo Medina third most popular President
The Madrid, Spain-based Asociación Comunicación Pública (ACOP) places President Danilo Medina as the third highest rated President in the world in its October Popularity Ranking.

The ACOP ranks Vladimir Putin (83%), from Russia, first, followed by President Lenín Moreno (77%), of Ecuador. Danilo Medina (63%). Michel Temer of Brazil is the least popular President with 3%.

Founded in 2005, ACOP is a forum for the exchange of knowledge, opinions and experiences on research and practice of political communication. Among its partners are researchers and political communication professionals who practice the craft in political parties, public administration and private consulting.

https://compolitica.com/acop/tabla-de-popularidad/
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...-la-fuente-es-el-ministerio-de-la-presidencia


The DR is ranked second after Mexico in corruption in Latin America
Corruption is on the rise in Latin America. According to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer, People and Corruption: Latin America and the Caribbean Index, 71% of those polled in the Dominican Republic thought that the level corruption had increased. 59% felt that their government was not doing enough to tackle corruption. 62% of those polled in the Dominican Republic answered that corruption had risen in the 12 months prior to when they were polled.

46% of those polled by Transparency International in the Dominican Republic said they had to pay a bribe when they had accessed basic public services in the previous 12 months. Country bribery rate was only higher in Mexico with 51%.

On the positive side, the poll revealed that 70% said that in the Dominican Republic it is socially acceptable to report a case of corruption. Nevertheless, the same poll determined that while reporting corruption was in theory seen as socially acceptable across most of the region, in practice few people actually reported corruption when they experienced it.

Over the region, only 1 in 10 said they had reported a case of bribery to the authorities. And 28% of those who reported experienced retaliation. Nevertheless, 72% said that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

Transparency International reported that based on the responses, the citizens of Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela felt corruption was a major problem. Respondents in these countries gave negative ratings across four of the five corruption indicators. Rates of bribery were high, the police were perceived to be highly corrupt and citizens were not satisfied with government efforts to address corruption and the change in the level of corruption over the previous 12 months. “This suggests real and urgent corruption risks in these countries, which will require joined up action by all levels of government and civil society,” reports TI in the conclusions for the new report from the Global Corruption Barometer series that is based on surveys with over 22,000 citizens living in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_on_the_rise_in_latin_america_and_the_caribbean
https://www.listindiario.com/las-mu...de-america-latina-donde-se-pagan-mas-sobornos


Judge orders pre-trial custody for UASD student president Yimi Zapata
National District Judge José Alejandro Vargas ordered pre-trial custody for the president of the UASD student federation, Yimi Zapata. Zapata is accused of organizing a United Nations student trip and providing 19 participating students with fake documents that led to their being deported from the United States. Zapata was ordered to serve the detention in the Najayo Jail in San Cristóbal.

Two other associates were sent to pre-trial custody -- Jorge Luis Taveras Sánchez and Alberto Rivera González. The judge allowed José Manuel Marte, Luis Armando Cruz and Baní city government councilor Luis Báez to post bail.

https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...-carcel-de-najayo-junto-a-otros-dos-imputados


Arrested students are on UASD payroll
Four of the six accused of defrauding 18 students who were planning to go to the United States to participate in a United Nations student program, are on the payroll of the state Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) with salaries ranging from RD$20,000 to RD$61,000 a month.

Among these are José Marte Marte, whose position is supposedly head of security at the Finca Engombe farm that pays him RD$61,351. In addition, the councilor for Bani for the Revolutionary Modern Party (PRM), Luis Alcides Báez, is on the payroll with a salary of RD$59, 837 for “activities according to the contract”.

Luis Armando Cruz Ruiz, another of the accused in the student fraud case is on the payroll as a maintenance assistant earning RD$31,467. Guermis Rivera González earns RD$20,434 for “activities according to the contract”.

Yimi Zapata, president of the Dominican Students’ Federation (FED) and one of the main accused, is not on the payroll, nor is Jorge Luis Tavárez, who is the president of the Foundation of Young People of the Future (Funlifu), who was employed to manage the journeys.

The lawyers of Yimi Zapata insist that he is innocent of the accusations and that there is a political persecution against him. The PRM political party to which Zapata belongs says they are investigating the case prior to issuing a statement.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...os-en-la-uasd-de-hasta-61-mil-pesos-CF8337756

Parachutist dies during Air Force event
A member of the Police, captain Luis Pavel Luna Kunhardt was killed on 7 October 2017 in a parachuting accident during celebrations of the 58th anniversary of the Special Forces Command of the Dominican Air Force. The Air Force reported a high-speed posture became unstable and he lost control of the parachute when tumbling and crashing into the San Isidro Air Force Base landing field.

There was no ambulance on service that day and Luna had to be transferred to the Ramon de Lara Hospital on the back of a pick up. The Air Force appointed a commission to delve into the circumstances of the tragic accident.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...ulado-habria-causado-accidente-fard-AH8339013


Alvarito Arvelo resigns from the Gobierno de la Mañana radio talk show
80-year old Alvarito Arvelo resigned from working in the Z101 Gobierno de la Mañana radio talk show following the controversy after he bad-mouthed founding father Juan Pablo Duarte when comparing him to national heroe Gregorio Luperón.

Arvelo suffers from serious cancer and heart troubles, but despite these was the heart and soul of the morning talk show where he imposed his knowledgeable, passionate, yet profanity-laced talking style. He has had a career in journalism and broadcast for more than 50 years.

In commenting on Duarte, Arvelo had called the founding father a “coward”, “who did not have character nor balls” and had preferred exile for 20 years in Venezuela, rather to fight in the restoration wars. He also called Duarte irresponsible, depressive and homosexual for having abandoned his ailing money and his family in the Dominican Republic.

The Duarte Institute in Santo Domingo announced on Monday, 9 October 2017, that it had placed a complaint before the Attorney General Office against Alvaro Arturo Arvelo Aybar for statements affecting the honor of the founding father.

The statements occurred when the Gobierno de la Mañana talk show hosted historian Roberto Cassá.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLZlhaH2_gY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuVK8hQcUGA

Rains on the way
Passing tropical waves are bringing thunderstorms especially to the northeast, southeast, southwest, central mountain area and the border area.

The National Meteorological Office (Onamet) said that people should be alert to possible flooding in the provinces of Monte Plata, Hato Mayor, El Seibo, San Pedro de Macorís, La Altagracia, Samaná, Santiago, San Juan, Sánchez Ramírez, Duarte, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, María Trinidad Sánchez and La Romana, as well as Greater Santo Domingo.

http://www.onamet.gov.do