ADP says it will await ruling by TSA on regional directors impasse
Permission request open for heavy vehicles during Easter Week
Roadworks in Santo Domingo
New fees at Passport Office
Hub Santo Domingo opens at Foreign Ministry Convention Center
Will exportable petrol be found soon in the DR?
Expats in the US send back 73.4% of total remittances in 2017
Expansion underway at Puerto Caucedo Port
Transporters demand completion of Rancho Arriba-Nizao road
DR government is one of many new firms that seek Ballard counsel
McGill University graduate education students at ABC School
Bajabonico and Bellaco communities say bridges have not been built
Transport strike in Puerto Plata not supported
DNCD agents involved in drug smuggling
One Canadian student dies, another seriously injured
Two children die in fire
Motorcycle crash kills four
Why were these two criminals out of jail?
Former public school director accused of RD$30 million fraud
Best Dominican track athletes threaten to not compete for DR
Warning due to rough seas and encroaching tides
ADP says it will await ruling by TSA on regional directors impasse
Education Minister Andrés Navarro and representatives of the Public Teachers Association (ADP) agreed to wait for the ruling by the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) on the appointment of 18 regional education directors. The TSA is the government body in charge of revising actions taken by other government entities to ensure these comply with the law.
Navarro also said he accepted the intermediation of the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP) to clarify the interpretations made on the law by the Ministry of Education and the ADP. Navarro said he is opening doors for talks between both institutions.
The ADP has opposed the new methodology used by the Ministry of Education to select the regional directors.
The meeting between the Ministry and the ADP lasted around an hour and a half.
An editorial in El Dia says that the impasse is because of differences between deputies Radhames Camacho and Eduardo Hidalgo who are holding on to their influence in appointing the regional directors.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...ivo-sobre-nombramientos-directores-regionales
http://elnacional.com.do/educacion-...sa-sobre-nombramientos-directores-regionales/
http://eldia.com.do/un-lio-entre-danilistas/
Permission request open for heavy vehicles during Easter Week
The National Institute of Ground Transit and Transport (Intrant) has announced that as from Monday 5 March 2018, owners and operators of heavy vehicles can apply for a special transit permit for Easter Week. The permits, which cost RD$1,000, are available on Intrant website and will only be given to those trucks that carry fuel, water, milk, pigs, chickens or perishable food.
Those with permits must observe a speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour and must always remain in the extreme right hand lane.
The permits can be requested from Monday 5 March till Monday 26 March. To apply, the cedula of the applicant and vehicle registration document are needed along with other documentation.
Heavy vehicles are banned from midday on Thursday 29 March to midnight on Sunday 1 April 2018. Only ambulances, emergency service vehicle, road maintenance vehicles, garbage trucks and telephone, electricity, coffee and sanitary vehicles are allowed to circulate.
Easter Week long weekend is considered the peak for domestic travel in the Dominican Republic.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ulacion-de-vehiculos-de-carga-en-semana-santa
Roadworks in Santo Domingo
The Ministry of Public Works has announced that from yesterday, Monday, 5 March 2018 to Friday, 9 March there will be various closures of tunnels and overpasses from 10:30pm for repairs and cleaning.
The elevated section of the Autopista 30 de Mayo with Kilometer 12 was closed on Monday; Tuesday it is 27 February Avenue with Tiradentes and Wednesday 27 February with Maximo Gomez. Thursday it will be the elevated section of Charles de Gaulle with the San Isidro Highway and Friday the tunnel on Las Americas Avenue.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...an-santo-domingo-para-mantenimiento-KX9330518
New fees at Passport Office
The Passport Office (DGP) has announced a fee increase of RD$1,000 for late collection of passports. By means of resolution 004-2018, those applying for a passport get 15 working days (Monday to Friday) to pick up the document. Those late in collecting the document will now need to pay RD$3,000 per passport. Previously, the cost was RD$2,000. The Passport Office argues that the delays generate additional expenses for the passport operation.
The Passport Office says that those who never collect their passport after it is ready and then order another one, will have to pay RD$4,000 for the new one, up from RD$3,000.
The DGP also said that no turbans or head coverings will be allowed for picture taking for the passports, regardless of religious, cultural or medical reasons. The DGP has made available a room where the persons can remove the headpieces in privacy. The cost for this special service is RD$300 per person. The DGP says there have been issues that have motivated them to implement this measure that is in Resolution 006/2018.
The general director of the Passports Office, Ramón Monchy Rodríguez, said the measures, among other reasons, seek to raise awareness among the population and reduce the renewals attributed to loss and deterioration of the travel document, in order to reduce possible risks related to migration, illegal and transnational organized crime, which leads to the trafficking of narcotics and weapons, trafficking in persons, terrorism and the smuggling of migrants. He said that one of the objectives of the DGP is to increase the trustworthiness of Dominican passports.
http://www.pasaportes.gob.do/ws/ind...orma-sobre-nuevas-tarifas-en-varios-servicios
http://www.pasaportes.gob.do/ws/index.php
Hub Santo Domingo opens at Foreign Ministry Convention Center
Organized by the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce and Production (CCPSD), Hub Cámara Santo Domingo 2018 opens on Tuesday, 6 March 2018 at the Ministry of Foreign Relations convention center on the Malecon. Jochi Vicente, president of the Chamber of Commerce, says the focus this year is developing more exports to the Caribbean market. The Hub is in its third year.
Hub 2018 has the backing of the Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo), the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD), the Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD), the Dominican Shippers Association, the Center for Export and Investment (CEI-RD) and the Ministry of the Presidency. This year, the focus is on the Caribbean, and dozens of Caribbean business people have come for meetings with local business people.
There are 15 free conferences scheduled, including several success stories of exports so that others can learn from the experience. 115 buyers will be participating in several B2B rounds. There are 150 stands.
This year, missions from Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Aruba, St. Martin, Antigua, Suriname, Guayana have confirmed. Also a delegation of 29 Taiwan companies, organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).
The keynote speaker this year is director of the Customs Agency Enrique Ramirez who will address the role of Customs Agency in the promotion of exports.
The event is also open to the general public at the Ministry, from 6 March to 9 March from 9am to 6pm.
https://www.listindiario.com/economia/2018/03/06/505278/vienen-mas-de-100-compradores-al-hub-2018
Will exportable petrol be found soon in the DR?
The Dominican Republic seeks to encourage the giant oil companies to take on natural gas and oil exploration. An interview carried by Bloomberg tells of Energy and Mines Minister Antonio Isa Conde saying that the government has plans to open two land blocks for oil exploration and two offshore blocks for natural gas exploratory drilling by the end of March.
According to the Bloomberg note, the government has eyed BP and Exxon for the job. Bloomberg reports that Exxon is already leading a group of companies that are developing 6.6-million acres in Guyana’s waters that could make that country one of Latin America’s largest oil producers within a decade.
The DR is not alone in courting the big companies: The Bahamas, Suriname, and Jamaica are other countries taking big steps to find their own oil fortunes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lic-to-join-caribbean-energy-exploration-rush
Expats in the US send back 73.4% of total remittances in 2017
Dominicans living abroad sent home US$5.91 billion in 2017, up from US$5.26 billion in 2016, according to Central Bank statistics, for a 12.4% increase, as reported in Diario Libre. Newspaper reporters make the point that 73.4% of all remittances are coming from US expats, up from 70.4% in 2016. Dominicans living in Spain accounted for 13.24% of the remittances, followed by Italy with 1.4%.
Diario Libre says experts suspect the increase in money sent home could reflect new concerns by the Dominican population in the United States with actions taken by the Trump Administration.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...epresentaron-73-4-del-total-en-2017-CY9331271
Expansion underway at Puerto Caucedo Port
There are plans for the construction of 14 warehouses at Puerto Multimodal Caucedo as the Santo Domingo province port positions itself to become the leading shipping port in the Caribbean region. The port is located a short distance from the Las Americas International Airport.
As reported in Diario Libre, DP World Caucedo, the company that operates the maritime and free zone port, envisions growing to a total of 28 logistic warehouses and even a hotel and convention center to serve port business customers.
Marketing & Sales manager, Carlos Guillermo Flaquer, says the warehouses serve the domestic and regional markets. He said machinery is being installed to identify and tag merchandise that arrives to the port but whose final destination is abroad as part of the repacking, reconsolidation and distribution of cargo, with sophisticated assembling and customization activities.
He said companies already operating under this scheme include Ikea, Scania, Rolex, Kimberly Clark and Diageo. All these companies have relocated their operations to the Dominican Republic. He said Decree 262-15 set the rules for the operation and control of the logistics centers in prime customs zones.
He said the plan is to build at least two warehouses per year with an extension of 100,000 square feet each. He said that 38% of the cargo received at the port comes from Europe and Asia.
As reported in Diario Libre, Flaquer considers that this capacity for connectivity, linking with 200 direct destinations in the world, and the adaptation of infrastructure to receive ships from the new Panama Canal, have been deciding factors making Puerto Caucedo especially attractive to customers in the region.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-centro-logistico-de-puerto-caucedo-IY9331291
Transporters demand completion of Rancho Arriba-Nizao road
Transporters using the Rancho Arriba-Nizao road parked their vehicles so that the road could not be used on Monday, 5 March 2018. The transporters protested that the Ministry of Public Works has not finished the construction at the last 12 km stretch of the Cibao-Sur road that connects the central Cibao region with the southern region of the country. T
The 24-hour road shutdown was called by the Committee Pro Cibao-Sur Road. The protestors say that the farming communities of Rancho Arriba and Nizao are the leading producers of export vegetables but suffer delays because of the rough conditions of the road. The road situation has worsened due to the intense rains of past months.
As reported in Listin Diario, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said he would receive representatives of the Committee in his office. Also participating in the meeting would be San Jose de Ocoa province governor Abraham Martínez.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...an-transporte-en-ocoa-en-demanda-de-carretera
DR government is one of many new firms that seek Ballard counsel
The government of the Dominican Republic has joined the governments of Turkey and Kosovo in contracting the Florida advocacy firm of Ballard Partners that opened offices in Washington with the start of the Trump Administration. The lobbying firm also has represented companies including Amazon.com, Reynolds American subsidiary RAI Services and even Uber Technologies, Bloomberg reports.
Ballard picked up these accounts after the Trump Organization was dropped as a client. Company chief executive, Brian Ballard had represented Trump Organization from 2013 to 2016.
Bloomberg explains that Brian Ballard, the Florida fundraiser who served several presidential candidates before working for Trump, is now helping those looking for a guide into the new US government.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...draiser-flourishes-as-new-washington-lobbyist
McGill University graduate education students at ABC School
The Americas Bicultural School (ABC School) in Santo Domingo continues to develop its educational partnership with McGill University of Montreal, Canada. The ties began because the principal of the ABC School is graduated with an M.A. in Administration and Policy Studies from McGill University. The collaboration calls for McGill to send graduate Education School student teachers to do their intensive field experience semester at the ABC School dates back around 10 years. Teaching this year are graduate students Katie Garrison, Amina Bouzidi and Carla El-Helou.
http://eldia.com.do/alianza-entre-el-americas-bicultural-school-y-mcgill-university/
Bajabonico and Bellaco communities say bridges have not been built
Spokesmen for the communities of Bajabonico and Bellaco in Puerto Plata contradicted words by President Danilo Medina in his 27 February 2018 state of the nation address and said it is not true that the Ministry of Public Works has rebuilt 10 pedestrian bridges that were destroyed in the intense rains of November 2016 in the municipalities of Imbert and Altamira in Puerto Plata.
Community leaders urged that Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo visit the communities to see for himself that the bridges continue to deteriorate due to the intense rains of two years ago.
The director of Centro de Salud Mamá Malta health center of Bajabonico Arriba, said they feel cheated. She said that the Ministry just sent men to measure but nothing has been repaired.
Community leader Carlos Manuel Minaya said that they are cut off by land affecting the farming activities of the community because they can hardly transport the goods anymore from Bajabonico Arriba or Bellaco. They said the Ministry of Public Works officers have lied to President Danilo Medina.
He said they are aware that deputy minister of Public Works, engineer Ramón Pepín, a Puerto Plata native, has visited the communities on several occasions and promised to repair the bridges. He said the community just has a hanging bridge built by the community itself to cross the Bajabonico River.
http://hoy.com.do/en-bajabonico-y-bellaco-aun-esperan-por-puentes-niegan-hayan-sido-construidos/
Transport strike in Puerto Plata not supported
Transport workers in Puerto Plata (both truck and public transport drivers) began a strike yesterday, Monday 5 March, 2018, demanding the government finish repairs on the Navarrete- Puerto Plata road.
The announcement of the strike was made by the Federation of Transport Drivers, stating the strike will last from 6am on Monday to 6am on the following Wednesday.
Union president, Cipriano Francisco Tavárez, said that they were tired of asking the Ministry of Public Works to speed up the project and warned there would be no transport of goods or passengers during the strike.
He said they were also demanding the completion of the Imbert-Luperon road, Imbert-Guananico and Imbert-Puerto Plata.
But the strike 48 hour strike that would have started at 6am on 5 March 2018, was called off two hours later, by 8am. It did not receive the expected support and transport was resumed on the roads.
http://puertoplatahabla.com/pp/fede...levanta-paro-por-48-horas-por-falta-de-apoyo/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...s-paro-de-servicios-en-puerto-plata-GY9331594
DNCD agents involved in drug smuggling
According to the Public Prosecution Service, a group known as the “Malecon Cartel” has been operating for years in the country, with the complicity of agents of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) to provide cover for the illegal shipment of cocaine at Dominican airports.
One of the cases in the file occurred on 11 March, 2016, when a Laser Airlines flight arrived at Las Americas from Venezuela. As reported in El Dia, what is known is that a Venezuelan went into the bathroom and where he met a person from the DNCD Canine Unit, Hairo González, who then took the drugs and met with DNCD Canine Unit agent Luis Alberto Calzado Calzado who later drove off in a Canine Unit vehicle.
According to the file, they were supposed to hand over the drugs to Miguel Sánchez Acevedo and Joel Miguel Ozuna Jiménez, outside the cargo area, as instructed by the operational arm of the organization, Roberto Saviñón. However, they were thwarted as investigating agents arrested all of the men, as well as the mule who brought the 10 kilos of cocaine, into the country.
It is thought that the head of the gang is Venezuelan Yoel Palmar, who was arrested in Colombia, had been using Dominican airports to bring cocaine in from several South American airlines.
However, Roberto Saviñon, from Nagua, who used several different names, managed to escape from custody when he was awaiting extradition from Nayayo jail, for a drug charge in the United States. He is still at large.
http://eldia.com.do/agentes-de-unidad-canina-usaban-los-vehiculos-dncd-para-mover-drogas/
http://eldia.com.do/las-fortunas-que-amaso-el-cartel-del-malecon-mediante-el-lavado/
One Canadian student dies, another seriously injured
One Canadian student died tragically from an accidental fall at the Be Live Experience Hamaca Beach in Boca Chica, 20 minutes from Santo Domingo, on Friday, 2 March 2018, according to Canadian press. Another student was seriously injured. Police are investigating the incident that occurred on Saturday, 3 March 2018 at 2:45am.
Both students were part of a group of 30 students from the university who were on vacation in Boca Chica.
Benjamin James Houtman, a 22-year old student from Bishop’s University and from Vancouver, died and 24-year old Matthew Van Doorn was seriously injured when they both fell into the lobby from the fourth floor of the beach resort. The body of Houtman was taken to the Institute of Forensic Pathology to await collection by his family.
Van Doorn was taken to the Dario Contreras Trauma Public Hospital where he is being treated for trauma to his head and other parts of his body.
The trip was not organized by the university, but as reported by the Canadian press, Bishop's has sent its dean of student affairs, Stine Linden-Andersen, to the Dominican Republic to provide support to the students. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Brendan Sutton said support is also available to families through the Canadian Embassy based in Santo Domingo.
https://proceso.com.do/2018/03/04/turista-muere-resulta-herido-al-caer-cuarto-piso/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bishops-student-dead-1.4562004
Two children die in fire
Two children, aged 4 and 7, died in a fire that affected several small homes in Muñoz in Puerto Plata on Sunday night, 4 March, 2018, and an 11-year old child is seriously ill in hospital suffering from burns.
According to information, the children who died are brothers Jhoanfry and Yuleisi Marcelino when the home they lived in with their Haitian parents was engulfed in flames. The victims’ elder brother, Joari Marcelino, has second and third degree burns and has been taken to the Children’s Hospital Doctor Arturo Grullón in Santiago.
It is thought that the fire started due to an electrical short circuit. The fire spread to another seven dwellings.
http://eldia.com.do/incendio-deja-dos-menores-muertos-y-otro-hospitalizado-con-quemaduras/
Motorcycle crash kills four
On Sunday afternoon, 5 March, 2018, three men and a woman died in a crash involving two motorcycles and a car on the Duarte Highway in Villa Vásquez, Montecristi province.
The victims were identified as Román Arturo García Placencio, aged 38; Paula Mercado, 32; Jerson Luis Peña Medina, 24 and Saúl Argenis Cabral,18 . All lived around Villa Vásquez.
The victims were all on the motorbikes that were travelling at speed when they hit the car.
Their bodies were taken to the National Institute of Forensic Science in Santiago.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...motocicletas-en-que-viajaban-en-villa-vasquez
Why were these two criminals out of jail?
Two members of the gang that killed 43-year old Virginia Veras, Marcos Cabrera Ortiz and Eudy Adelin Roa García, supposedly should have been serving 20 years in jail after they were sentenced for “stealing personal items” of Félix Manuel Consuegra. They had been sentenced in 2015 by a Valverde court. The two men have now been identified as members of a dangerous criminal gang that also murdered Rafael Cruz Hernández.
Eudy Roa had been arrested for stealing the SUV of the country’s ombudsman, Zoila Martínez. As reported Roa had linkages in Haiti where the luxury vehicles were transferred and sold after being stolen in the DR. The ruling had ordered they serve the sentence in a Valverde jail.
On Sunday, 4 March 2018, the Police said that Roa García was the operating arm of a criminal organization lead by Carlos Alberto Villavizar Guzmán.
The body of Virginia Veras was found on 27 February 2018 in Vicente Noble, Barahona, 25 days after she was reported missing when she should have traveled by bus to Santiago de los Caballeros. She lived in Los Tres Brazos alone with her 14-year old son. She had on the same clothes of the day she disappeared, leading her relatives to think she was kept in captivity. The Police suspect Veras was murdered to silence her because she had learned a former boss of hers was going to be murdered.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...iculada-estan-condenados-a-20-anos-de-prision
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...as-multiples-detenciones-de-carlos-villavizar
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...esaparecida-desde-el-2-de-febrero-de-este-ano
Former public school director accused of RD$30 million fraud
National District prosecutors have accused the former director of the Liceo Estados Unidos in the National District of around RD$30 million in fraud against more than 100 persons in the National District. She is the wife of a Christian minister and also posed as a pastor who had much influence in the government and offered facilities for the purchase of homes and vehicles through a Ministry of Education program. As reported, she solicited down payments for vehicles and real estate but never delivered these as promised.
As reported, Adalgisa Reyes Mora, known by her victims as “the czar of fraud” carried out the actions when she was the director of the public high school. She is serving pre-trial custody in the Women’s Jail in Najayo, San Cristóbal.
http://elnacional.com.do/acusan-directora-de-liceo-estafa-por-rd30-millones/
Best Dominican track athletes threaten to not compete for DR
The top Dominican track and field athletes have taken public their pleas to the Ministry of Sports to end the improvisations that affect their training and competing programs. Brothers Luguelin and Juander Santos, Mariely Sanchez and her husband coach José Rubio told Listin Diario that the Ministry has not met agreements reached for wage improvements and timely payments of airfares for international competition. Luguelin Santos recently competed in the IAAF World Indoor Championships held in England where he would have come in second in the 400m but was disqualified for stepping on his lane line.
The group that now trains in Bahrein where Rubio took a coaching job says they will not represent the Dominican Reoublic in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia (19 July to 3 August 2018) if these agreements are not met. They are demanding improvement to the wages of coach Rubio, the contributions received from the Parni elite athlete program and improvements in the payments program by the Dominican Federation of Association of Athletics (FDAA).
Rubio told Diario Libre: “Until they get things clear with us, they will not be able to count on them or on me in any event.”
Luguelin Santos, who won silver in the 400m in the London 2012 Olympics, has been receiving RD$17,000 a month from the Parni program, he says. He wants this to be revised upwards to the level of Ministry of Sports monitors that make RD$40,000.
Rubio said that Sports Minister Danilo Díaz had increased his RD$25,000 wage to RD$60,000. But when the Santos brothers, Mariely Sanchez and himself moved from training in Puerto Rico to Bahrein, the RD$25,000 wage level was restored.
Rubio complains the improvisation directly affects the athletes’ plans. He said it had been agreed that the FDAA would pay the tickets for the team to move to Bahrein, but they have not yet done so. Rubio complained everything is left for the last minute.
Rubio told Diario Libre that if it were not for the private sports fund, Creso (Creando Sueños Olímpicos) the team would not exist.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...iran-a-los-juegos-si-no-les-cumplen-DF9340252
Warning due to rough seas and encroaching tides
The Emergency Operations’ Center (COE) has increased the state of alert from green to yellow for the Atlantic coast, due to high waves. Small and medium sized boats from Manzanillo in Montecristi to Cabo Engaño in La Altagracia have been ordered to stay in port. In the Bay of Samaná, small boats must not leave the bay area.
In addition those living in Matancitas in Maria Trinidad Sánchez province and in Gaspar Hernández in Espaillat have been told to take preventive measure for possible coastal flooding.
In Puerto Plata those at the beach are not allowed to swim and aquatic activities have been suspended. In addition hotels have been told to fly red flags.
The Association of Small Boat Owners of Puerto Plata has decided to take all of its boats to Luperon harbor as a precaution.
Meanwhile, around 10 families had to be evacuated from their dwellings in Río San Juan, María Trinidad Sánchez province and in Gaspar Hernández, Espaillat due to the rising ocean water caused by waves of more than 12 feet product of the low pressure system. Seven families were rescued from Acapulco sector in Río San Juan. The houses, nevertheless, were not damaged, but debris was littered all around the streets, as reported by the Center for Emergency Operations.
The high tide was also felt in the Puerto Plata Malecon area and in Macao Beach in Punta Cana, but there have not been reports of evacuations.
http://elnacional.com.do/desalojan-familias-por-fuerte-oleaje-en-el-nordeste/
http://almomento.net/puerto-plata-autoridades-prohiben-uso-de-playas-en-la-costa-atlantica/
http://www.onamet.gov.do
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/168811-Cabarete-beach-4-03-2018-Strongly-waves
Permission request open for heavy vehicles during Easter Week
Roadworks in Santo Domingo
New fees at Passport Office
Hub Santo Domingo opens at Foreign Ministry Convention Center
Will exportable petrol be found soon in the DR?
Expats in the US send back 73.4% of total remittances in 2017
Expansion underway at Puerto Caucedo Port
Transporters demand completion of Rancho Arriba-Nizao road
DR government is one of many new firms that seek Ballard counsel
McGill University graduate education students at ABC School
Bajabonico and Bellaco communities say bridges have not been built
Transport strike in Puerto Plata not supported
DNCD agents involved in drug smuggling
One Canadian student dies, another seriously injured
Two children die in fire
Motorcycle crash kills four
Why were these two criminals out of jail?
Former public school director accused of RD$30 million fraud
Best Dominican track athletes threaten to not compete for DR
Warning due to rough seas and encroaching tides
ADP says it will await ruling by TSA on regional directors impasse
Education Minister Andrés Navarro and representatives of the Public Teachers Association (ADP) agreed to wait for the ruling by the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) on the appointment of 18 regional education directors. The TSA is the government body in charge of revising actions taken by other government entities to ensure these comply with the law.
Navarro also said he accepted the intermediation of the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP) to clarify the interpretations made on the law by the Ministry of Education and the ADP. Navarro said he is opening doors for talks between both institutions.
The ADP has opposed the new methodology used by the Ministry of Education to select the regional directors.
The meeting between the Ministry and the ADP lasted around an hour and a half.
An editorial in El Dia says that the impasse is because of differences between deputies Radhames Camacho and Eduardo Hidalgo who are holding on to their influence in appointing the regional directors.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...ivo-sobre-nombramientos-directores-regionales
http://elnacional.com.do/educacion-...sa-sobre-nombramientos-directores-regionales/
http://eldia.com.do/un-lio-entre-danilistas/
Permission request open for heavy vehicles during Easter Week
The National Institute of Ground Transit and Transport (Intrant) has announced that as from Monday 5 March 2018, owners and operators of heavy vehicles can apply for a special transit permit for Easter Week. The permits, which cost RD$1,000, are available on Intrant website and will only be given to those trucks that carry fuel, water, milk, pigs, chickens or perishable food.
Those with permits must observe a speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour and must always remain in the extreme right hand lane.
The permits can be requested from Monday 5 March till Monday 26 March. To apply, the cedula of the applicant and vehicle registration document are needed along with other documentation.
Heavy vehicles are banned from midday on Thursday 29 March to midnight on Sunday 1 April 2018. Only ambulances, emergency service vehicle, road maintenance vehicles, garbage trucks and telephone, electricity, coffee and sanitary vehicles are allowed to circulate.
Easter Week long weekend is considered the peak for domestic travel in the Dominican Republic.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ulacion-de-vehiculos-de-carga-en-semana-santa
Roadworks in Santo Domingo
The Ministry of Public Works has announced that from yesterday, Monday, 5 March 2018 to Friday, 9 March there will be various closures of tunnels and overpasses from 10:30pm for repairs and cleaning.
The elevated section of the Autopista 30 de Mayo with Kilometer 12 was closed on Monday; Tuesday it is 27 February Avenue with Tiradentes and Wednesday 27 February with Maximo Gomez. Thursday it will be the elevated section of Charles de Gaulle with the San Isidro Highway and Friday the tunnel on Las Americas Avenue.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...an-santo-domingo-para-mantenimiento-KX9330518
New fees at Passport Office
The Passport Office (DGP) has announced a fee increase of RD$1,000 for late collection of passports. By means of resolution 004-2018, those applying for a passport get 15 working days (Monday to Friday) to pick up the document. Those late in collecting the document will now need to pay RD$3,000 per passport. Previously, the cost was RD$2,000. The Passport Office argues that the delays generate additional expenses for the passport operation.
The Passport Office says that those who never collect their passport after it is ready and then order another one, will have to pay RD$4,000 for the new one, up from RD$3,000.
The DGP also said that no turbans or head coverings will be allowed for picture taking for the passports, regardless of religious, cultural or medical reasons. The DGP has made available a room where the persons can remove the headpieces in privacy. The cost for this special service is RD$300 per person. The DGP says there have been issues that have motivated them to implement this measure that is in Resolution 006/2018.
The general director of the Passports Office, Ramón Monchy Rodríguez, said the measures, among other reasons, seek to raise awareness among the population and reduce the renewals attributed to loss and deterioration of the travel document, in order to reduce possible risks related to migration, illegal and transnational organized crime, which leads to the trafficking of narcotics and weapons, trafficking in persons, terrorism and the smuggling of migrants. He said that one of the objectives of the DGP is to increase the trustworthiness of Dominican passports.
http://www.pasaportes.gob.do/ws/ind...orma-sobre-nuevas-tarifas-en-varios-servicios
http://www.pasaportes.gob.do/ws/index.php
Hub Santo Domingo opens at Foreign Ministry Convention Center
Organized by the Santo Domingo Chamber of Commerce and Production (CCPSD), Hub Cámara Santo Domingo 2018 opens on Tuesday, 6 March 2018 at the Ministry of Foreign Relations convention center on the Malecon. Jochi Vicente, president of the Chamber of Commerce, says the focus this year is developing more exports to the Caribbean market. The Hub is in its third year.
Hub 2018 has the backing of the Dominican Association of Exporters (Adoexpo), the Dominican Agribusiness Board (JAD), the Dominican Republic Association of Industries (AIRD), the Dominican Shippers Association, the Center for Export and Investment (CEI-RD) and the Ministry of the Presidency. This year, the focus is on the Caribbean, and dozens of Caribbean business people have come for meetings with local business people.
There are 15 free conferences scheduled, including several success stories of exports so that others can learn from the experience. 115 buyers will be participating in several B2B rounds. There are 150 stands.
This year, missions from Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Aruba, St. Martin, Antigua, Suriname, Guayana have confirmed. Also a delegation of 29 Taiwan companies, organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).
The keynote speaker this year is director of the Customs Agency Enrique Ramirez who will address the role of Customs Agency in the promotion of exports.
The event is also open to the general public at the Ministry, from 6 March to 9 March from 9am to 6pm.
https://www.listindiario.com/economia/2018/03/06/505278/vienen-mas-de-100-compradores-al-hub-2018
Will exportable petrol be found soon in the DR?
The Dominican Republic seeks to encourage the giant oil companies to take on natural gas and oil exploration. An interview carried by Bloomberg tells of Energy and Mines Minister Antonio Isa Conde saying that the government has plans to open two land blocks for oil exploration and two offshore blocks for natural gas exploratory drilling by the end of March.
According to the Bloomberg note, the government has eyed BP and Exxon for the job. Bloomberg reports that Exxon is already leading a group of companies that are developing 6.6-million acres in Guyana’s waters that could make that country one of Latin America’s largest oil producers within a decade.
The DR is not alone in courting the big companies: The Bahamas, Suriname, and Jamaica are other countries taking big steps to find their own oil fortunes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lic-to-join-caribbean-energy-exploration-rush
Expats in the US send back 73.4% of total remittances in 2017
Dominicans living abroad sent home US$5.91 billion in 2017, up from US$5.26 billion in 2016, according to Central Bank statistics, for a 12.4% increase, as reported in Diario Libre. Newspaper reporters make the point that 73.4% of all remittances are coming from US expats, up from 70.4% in 2016. Dominicans living in Spain accounted for 13.24% of the remittances, followed by Italy with 1.4%.
Diario Libre says experts suspect the increase in money sent home could reflect new concerns by the Dominican population in the United States with actions taken by the Trump Administration.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...epresentaron-73-4-del-total-en-2017-CY9331271
Expansion underway at Puerto Caucedo Port
There are plans for the construction of 14 warehouses at Puerto Multimodal Caucedo as the Santo Domingo province port positions itself to become the leading shipping port in the Caribbean region. The port is located a short distance from the Las Americas International Airport.
As reported in Diario Libre, DP World Caucedo, the company that operates the maritime and free zone port, envisions growing to a total of 28 logistic warehouses and even a hotel and convention center to serve port business customers.
Marketing & Sales manager, Carlos Guillermo Flaquer, says the warehouses serve the domestic and regional markets. He said machinery is being installed to identify and tag merchandise that arrives to the port but whose final destination is abroad as part of the repacking, reconsolidation and distribution of cargo, with sophisticated assembling and customization activities.
He said companies already operating under this scheme include Ikea, Scania, Rolex, Kimberly Clark and Diageo. All these companies have relocated their operations to the Dominican Republic. He said Decree 262-15 set the rules for the operation and control of the logistics centers in prime customs zones.
He said the plan is to build at least two warehouses per year with an extension of 100,000 square feet each. He said that 38% of the cargo received at the port comes from Europe and Asia.
As reported in Diario Libre, Flaquer considers that this capacity for connectivity, linking with 200 direct destinations in the world, and the adaptation of infrastructure to receive ships from the new Panama Canal, have been deciding factors making Puerto Caucedo especially attractive to customers in the region.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...-centro-logistico-de-puerto-caucedo-IY9331291
Transporters demand completion of Rancho Arriba-Nizao road
Transporters using the Rancho Arriba-Nizao road parked their vehicles so that the road could not be used on Monday, 5 March 2018. The transporters protested that the Ministry of Public Works has not finished the construction at the last 12 km stretch of the Cibao-Sur road that connects the central Cibao region with the southern region of the country. T
The 24-hour road shutdown was called by the Committee Pro Cibao-Sur Road. The protestors say that the farming communities of Rancho Arriba and Nizao are the leading producers of export vegetables but suffer delays because of the rough conditions of the road. The road situation has worsened due to the intense rains of past months.
As reported in Listin Diario, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said he would receive representatives of the Committee in his office. Also participating in the meeting would be San Jose de Ocoa province governor Abraham Martínez.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...an-transporte-en-ocoa-en-demanda-de-carretera
DR government is one of many new firms that seek Ballard counsel
The government of the Dominican Republic has joined the governments of Turkey and Kosovo in contracting the Florida advocacy firm of Ballard Partners that opened offices in Washington with the start of the Trump Administration. The lobbying firm also has represented companies including Amazon.com, Reynolds American subsidiary RAI Services and even Uber Technologies, Bloomberg reports.
Ballard picked up these accounts after the Trump Organization was dropped as a client. Company chief executive, Brian Ballard had represented Trump Organization from 2013 to 2016.
Bloomberg explains that Brian Ballard, the Florida fundraiser who served several presidential candidates before working for Trump, is now helping those looking for a guide into the new US government.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...draiser-flourishes-as-new-washington-lobbyist
McGill University graduate education students at ABC School
The Americas Bicultural School (ABC School) in Santo Domingo continues to develop its educational partnership with McGill University of Montreal, Canada. The ties began because the principal of the ABC School is graduated with an M.A. in Administration and Policy Studies from McGill University. The collaboration calls for McGill to send graduate Education School student teachers to do their intensive field experience semester at the ABC School dates back around 10 years. Teaching this year are graduate students Katie Garrison, Amina Bouzidi and Carla El-Helou.
http://eldia.com.do/alianza-entre-el-americas-bicultural-school-y-mcgill-university/
Bajabonico and Bellaco communities say bridges have not been built
Spokesmen for the communities of Bajabonico and Bellaco in Puerto Plata contradicted words by President Danilo Medina in his 27 February 2018 state of the nation address and said it is not true that the Ministry of Public Works has rebuilt 10 pedestrian bridges that were destroyed in the intense rains of November 2016 in the municipalities of Imbert and Altamira in Puerto Plata.
Community leaders urged that Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo visit the communities to see for himself that the bridges continue to deteriorate due to the intense rains of two years ago.
The director of Centro de Salud Mamá Malta health center of Bajabonico Arriba, said they feel cheated. She said that the Ministry just sent men to measure but nothing has been repaired.
Community leader Carlos Manuel Minaya said that they are cut off by land affecting the farming activities of the community because they can hardly transport the goods anymore from Bajabonico Arriba or Bellaco. They said the Ministry of Public Works officers have lied to President Danilo Medina.
He said they are aware that deputy minister of Public Works, engineer Ramón Pepín, a Puerto Plata native, has visited the communities on several occasions and promised to repair the bridges. He said the community just has a hanging bridge built by the community itself to cross the Bajabonico River.
http://hoy.com.do/en-bajabonico-y-bellaco-aun-esperan-por-puentes-niegan-hayan-sido-construidos/
Transport strike in Puerto Plata not supported
Transport workers in Puerto Plata (both truck and public transport drivers) began a strike yesterday, Monday 5 March, 2018, demanding the government finish repairs on the Navarrete- Puerto Plata road.
The announcement of the strike was made by the Federation of Transport Drivers, stating the strike will last from 6am on Monday to 6am on the following Wednesday.
Union president, Cipriano Francisco Tavárez, said that they were tired of asking the Ministry of Public Works to speed up the project and warned there would be no transport of goods or passengers during the strike.
He said they were also demanding the completion of the Imbert-Luperon road, Imbert-Guananico and Imbert-Puerto Plata.
But the strike 48 hour strike that would have started at 6am on 5 March 2018, was called off two hours later, by 8am. It did not receive the expected support and transport was resumed on the roads.
http://puertoplatahabla.com/pp/fede...levanta-paro-por-48-horas-por-falta-de-apoyo/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...s-paro-de-servicios-en-puerto-plata-GY9331594
DNCD agents involved in drug smuggling
According to the Public Prosecution Service, a group known as the “Malecon Cartel” has been operating for years in the country, with the complicity of agents of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) to provide cover for the illegal shipment of cocaine at Dominican airports.
One of the cases in the file occurred on 11 March, 2016, when a Laser Airlines flight arrived at Las Americas from Venezuela. As reported in El Dia, what is known is that a Venezuelan went into the bathroom and where he met a person from the DNCD Canine Unit, Hairo González, who then took the drugs and met with DNCD Canine Unit agent Luis Alberto Calzado Calzado who later drove off in a Canine Unit vehicle.
According to the file, they were supposed to hand over the drugs to Miguel Sánchez Acevedo and Joel Miguel Ozuna Jiménez, outside the cargo area, as instructed by the operational arm of the organization, Roberto Saviñón. However, they were thwarted as investigating agents arrested all of the men, as well as the mule who brought the 10 kilos of cocaine, into the country.
It is thought that the head of the gang is Venezuelan Yoel Palmar, who was arrested in Colombia, had been using Dominican airports to bring cocaine in from several South American airlines.
However, Roberto Saviñon, from Nagua, who used several different names, managed to escape from custody when he was awaiting extradition from Nayayo jail, for a drug charge in the United States. He is still at large.
http://eldia.com.do/agentes-de-unidad-canina-usaban-los-vehiculos-dncd-para-mover-drogas/
http://eldia.com.do/las-fortunas-que-amaso-el-cartel-del-malecon-mediante-el-lavado/
One Canadian student dies, another seriously injured
One Canadian student died tragically from an accidental fall at the Be Live Experience Hamaca Beach in Boca Chica, 20 minutes from Santo Domingo, on Friday, 2 March 2018, according to Canadian press. Another student was seriously injured. Police are investigating the incident that occurred on Saturday, 3 March 2018 at 2:45am.
Both students were part of a group of 30 students from the university who were on vacation in Boca Chica.
Benjamin James Houtman, a 22-year old student from Bishop’s University and from Vancouver, died and 24-year old Matthew Van Doorn was seriously injured when they both fell into the lobby from the fourth floor of the beach resort. The body of Houtman was taken to the Institute of Forensic Pathology to await collection by his family.
Van Doorn was taken to the Dario Contreras Trauma Public Hospital where he is being treated for trauma to his head and other parts of his body.
The trip was not organized by the university, but as reported by the Canadian press, Bishop's has sent its dean of student affairs, Stine Linden-Andersen, to the Dominican Republic to provide support to the students. Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Brendan Sutton said support is also available to families through the Canadian Embassy based in Santo Domingo.
https://proceso.com.do/2018/03/04/turista-muere-resulta-herido-al-caer-cuarto-piso/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bishops-student-dead-1.4562004
Two children die in fire
Two children, aged 4 and 7, died in a fire that affected several small homes in Muñoz in Puerto Plata on Sunday night, 4 March, 2018, and an 11-year old child is seriously ill in hospital suffering from burns.
According to information, the children who died are brothers Jhoanfry and Yuleisi Marcelino when the home they lived in with their Haitian parents was engulfed in flames. The victims’ elder brother, Joari Marcelino, has second and third degree burns and has been taken to the Children’s Hospital Doctor Arturo Grullón in Santiago.
It is thought that the fire started due to an electrical short circuit. The fire spread to another seven dwellings.
http://eldia.com.do/incendio-deja-dos-menores-muertos-y-otro-hospitalizado-con-quemaduras/
Motorcycle crash kills four
On Sunday afternoon, 5 March, 2018, three men and a woman died in a crash involving two motorcycles and a car on the Duarte Highway in Villa Vásquez, Montecristi province.
The victims were identified as Román Arturo García Placencio, aged 38; Paula Mercado, 32; Jerson Luis Peña Medina, 24 and Saúl Argenis Cabral,18 . All lived around Villa Vásquez.
The victims were all on the motorbikes that were travelling at speed when they hit the car.
Their bodies were taken to the National Institute of Forensic Science in Santiago.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...motocicletas-en-que-viajaban-en-villa-vasquez
Why were these two criminals out of jail?
Two members of the gang that killed 43-year old Virginia Veras, Marcos Cabrera Ortiz and Eudy Adelin Roa García, supposedly should have been serving 20 years in jail after they were sentenced for “stealing personal items” of Félix Manuel Consuegra. They had been sentenced in 2015 by a Valverde court. The two men have now been identified as members of a dangerous criminal gang that also murdered Rafael Cruz Hernández.
Eudy Roa had been arrested for stealing the SUV of the country’s ombudsman, Zoila Martínez. As reported Roa had linkages in Haiti where the luxury vehicles were transferred and sold after being stolen in the DR. The ruling had ordered they serve the sentence in a Valverde jail.
On Sunday, 4 March 2018, the Police said that Roa García was the operating arm of a criminal organization lead by Carlos Alberto Villavizar Guzmán.
The body of Virginia Veras was found on 27 February 2018 in Vicente Noble, Barahona, 25 days after she was reported missing when she should have traveled by bus to Santiago de los Caballeros. She lived in Los Tres Brazos alone with her 14-year old son. She had on the same clothes of the day she disappeared, leading her relatives to think she was kept in captivity. The Police suspect Veras was murdered to silence her because she had learned a former boss of hers was going to be murdered.
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...iculada-estan-condenados-a-20-anos-de-prision
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...as-multiples-detenciones-de-carlos-villavizar
https://www.listindiario.com/la-rep...esaparecida-desde-el-2-de-febrero-de-este-ano
Former public school director accused of RD$30 million fraud
National District prosecutors have accused the former director of the Liceo Estados Unidos in the National District of around RD$30 million in fraud against more than 100 persons in the National District. She is the wife of a Christian minister and also posed as a pastor who had much influence in the government and offered facilities for the purchase of homes and vehicles through a Ministry of Education program. As reported, she solicited down payments for vehicles and real estate but never delivered these as promised.
As reported, Adalgisa Reyes Mora, known by her victims as “the czar of fraud” carried out the actions when she was the director of the public high school. She is serving pre-trial custody in the Women’s Jail in Najayo, San Cristóbal.
http://elnacional.com.do/acusan-directora-de-liceo-estafa-por-rd30-millones/
Best Dominican track athletes threaten to not compete for DR
The top Dominican track and field athletes have taken public their pleas to the Ministry of Sports to end the improvisations that affect their training and competing programs. Brothers Luguelin and Juander Santos, Mariely Sanchez and her husband coach José Rubio told Listin Diario that the Ministry has not met agreements reached for wage improvements and timely payments of airfares for international competition. Luguelin Santos recently competed in the IAAF World Indoor Championships held in England where he would have come in second in the 400m but was disqualified for stepping on his lane line.
The group that now trains in Bahrein where Rubio took a coaching job says they will not represent the Dominican Reoublic in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia (19 July to 3 August 2018) if these agreements are not met. They are demanding improvement to the wages of coach Rubio, the contributions received from the Parni elite athlete program and improvements in the payments program by the Dominican Federation of Association of Athletics (FDAA).
Rubio told Diario Libre: “Until they get things clear with us, they will not be able to count on them or on me in any event.”
Luguelin Santos, who won silver in the 400m in the London 2012 Olympics, has been receiving RD$17,000 a month from the Parni program, he says. He wants this to be revised upwards to the level of Ministry of Sports monitors that make RD$40,000.
Rubio said that Sports Minister Danilo Díaz had increased his RD$25,000 wage to RD$60,000. But when the Santos brothers, Mariely Sanchez and himself moved from training in Puerto Rico to Bahrein, the RD$25,000 wage level was restored.
Rubio complains the improvisation directly affects the athletes’ plans. He said it had been agreed that the FDAA would pay the tickets for the team to move to Bahrein, but they have not yet done so. Rubio complained everything is left for the last minute.
Rubio told Diario Libre that if it were not for the private sports fund, Creso (Creando Sueños Olímpicos) the team would not exist.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...iran-a-los-juegos-si-no-les-cumplen-DF9340252
Warning due to rough seas and encroaching tides
The Emergency Operations’ Center (COE) has increased the state of alert from green to yellow for the Atlantic coast, due to high waves. Small and medium sized boats from Manzanillo in Montecristi to Cabo Engaño in La Altagracia have been ordered to stay in port. In the Bay of Samaná, small boats must not leave the bay area.
In addition those living in Matancitas in Maria Trinidad Sánchez province and in Gaspar Hernández in Espaillat have been told to take preventive measure for possible coastal flooding.
In Puerto Plata those at the beach are not allowed to swim and aquatic activities have been suspended. In addition hotels have been told to fly red flags.
The Association of Small Boat Owners of Puerto Plata has decided to take all of its boats to Luperon harbor as a precaution.
Meanwhile, around 10 families had to be evacuated from their dwellings in Río San Juan, María Trinidad Sánchez province and in Gaspar Hernández, Espaillat due to the rising ocean water caused by waves of more than 12 feet product of the low pressure system. Seven families were rescued from Acapulco sector in Río San Juan. The houses, nevertheless, were not damaged, but debris was littered all around the streets, as reported by the Center for Emergency Operations.
The high tide was also felt in the Puerto Plata Malecon area and in Macao Beach in Punta Cana, but there have not been reports of evacuations.
http://elnacional.com.do/desalojan-familias-por-fuerte-oleaje-en-el-nordeste/
http://almomento.net/puerto-plata-autoridades-prohiben-uso-de-playas-en-la-costa-atlantica/
http://www.onamet.gov.do
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/168811-Cabarete-beach-4-03-2018-Strongly-waves