Government sets aside RD$4 billion for second tramway
Minister says Punta Catalina will start up next month
Jose Ramon Peralta: Importing 3 power barges to fill in the demand gaps
Omsa to offer 24/7 service by 2020?
Gustavo Mejia Ricart stretch turns pedestrian over the weekend
The time has come to renew marbetes
Ministry of Environment gives green light to bus terminal
Gallup-Hoy: Nothing decided in Dominican politics
Dominican Army begins Operation Border Fence
Haiti investigates its diplomatic personnel after Diario Libre stories
UN agencies call for DR to reduce rate of teenage pregnancies
Current predictions call for functioning stock market in about three years
Judge awards RD$1.7 million to employee, but was it excessive?
New DA dumps 25,000 pieces of evidence on the court in Peravia case
A poorly executed self-robbery backfires on its “victim”
Dominican Professional Baseball League desists in honoring Matos Berrido
Vlad Guerrero tweets appreciation of Lidom honor
DR sweeps regional tennis table tournament
Government sets aside RD$4 billion for second tramway
The government continues with its plans to build a second tramway in Los Alcarrizos in Santo Domingo. RD$4 billion has been allotted in the 2019 National Budget. The 2019 National Budget has been set at RD$921.81 billion as submitted to the National Congress.
The RD$4 billion will cover the construction of the second cable car route. The route will start in Los Alcarrizos, to the West of Santo Domingo and cover 11 kms with six stations. The first station is at Puente Blanco in Los Alcarrizos; the second station is at the entrance to the municipality; and the others are on Monumental Avenue, the entry to Manoguayabo, the 27 February extension, the middle of Herrera and the last one at Kilometer 9 on the Duarte Highway at the Maria Montez station of Line 2 of the Santo Domingo Metro.
The first skylift, across Ozama River, reportedly cost US$42 million, or approximately RD$2 billion, and travels five kilometers.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...truir-segunda-linea-del-teleferico-GI10906761
https://almomento.net/danilo-medina-inaugura-teleferico-santo-domingo-costo-us42-millones/
https://telefericodesantodomingo.wordpress.com/
Minister says Punta Catalina will start up next month
Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramon Peralta, told reporters that the coal-fired boilers at the electricity generating facility under construction at Punta Catalina will be operating in October 2018. He made the statements in an interview on Enfoque Matinal TV program on CDN.
He expects that by December, the facility will begin providing 40MW to the national electricity system. By February 2019, he said that the plant would be contributing 300MW to the system.
At the same time, Peralta said that businessmen from the United States who met with President Medina late last week in New York City are interested in acquiring 50% of the shares of the generating facility. He said that President Medina met with different representatives of investment banks as well as private investors from the United States because the state is interested in offering 50% of the shares to the private sector.
Peralta told the press that with the 210MW that will be contributed by AES Andres by the end of October plus the 40MW from Punta Catalina, the energy supply will be notably improved.
He noted that the generation of electricity has begun to improve with 110 MW from AES Andres entering the national grid. It had originally been announced it would take a year for the plant to return to full operation. Peralta said the government still has not determined clearly what caused the shutdown of the AES facility.
Peralta announced that administration is meanwhile resorting to imported emergency power barges to meet the electricity demand. He said the government has contracted three 33 megawatt plants that will be arriving from Puerto Rico. The plants are filling the electricity gap after the AES Andres natural gas-fired plant unexpectedly went out of service. The plant is expected to be generating its full 300MW by February 2019. The plant then will go out of service for maintenance while the three 33-megawatt barges make up for the difference.
Peralta says that the electricity situation will stabilize when the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant provides 300MW by February 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emM2XBazGGs
http://elnacional.com.do/peralta-asegura-encienden-a-catalina-el-proximo-mes/
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/09/28/panorama/pais/peralta-anuncia-llegada-de-tres-plantas-gas/
Omsa to offer 24/7 service by 2020?
The director of the Metropolitan Office for Bus Services (OMSA), Hector Mojica, told El Caribe reporters that starting in 2020, there will be 24-hour bus service for passengers in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago.
Omsa will be starting new routes in response to popular demand, such as the recently initiated Av. Abraham Lincoln. He said the routes are being incorporated based on studies carried out by the National Institute for Traffic and Ground Transport (Intrant).
Mojica explained that Omsa has 245 buses currently in service from 6am to 11pm. He said when he was named to the post there were 500 buses out of service, of which 300 were identified as repairable. He announced purchase process for 200 new units.
Mojica was appointed after a major corruption scandal was revealed at the OMSA and the former director, Manuel Rivas, is accused in the case. He is also suspect of participating in the murder of lawyer Yuniol Ramírez, who was investigating corruption at OMSA.
According to Mojica, Omsa buses transport around 500,000 passengers a week, and two million a month. Last year, overall 24 million passengers used Omsa buses. He said the goal is to transport 27 million passengers a year. Mojica said the fares will not be increased and soon new systems will be installed for electronic fare collecting. The main routes in Greater Santo Domingo are: Av. 27 de Febrero (from the Hipódromo to Km 9 on Duarte Highway), Corridor Los Ríos; Corridor Juan Bosch and Charles de Gaulle. These routes serve as feeders to the Santo Domingo metro and skylift.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/09...culara-24-horas-al-dia-en-corredores-del-gsd/
Gustavo Mejia Ricart stretch turns pedestrian over the weekend
Just as it had been announced, the National Institute of Traffic and Ground Transportation (Intrant) closed down over the weekend a section of Gustavo Mejia Ricart Avenue in the National District to promote alternative means of transportation “that are more sustainable.” At 7:45pm, the stretch of the Avenue between Lope de Vega and Tiradentes (East-West) was closed to vehicle traffic. A 911 service ambulance was on call and members of the traffic police from Intrant were on duty at both ends of this stretch of the Avenue. Some of the establishments along the short route set out chairs and tables to serve the pedestrians and a few people, very few, rode their bicycles.
A number of people questioned by reporters from the Diario Libre seemed to be pleased with the initiative. However, restaurant employees interviewed on the row complained that the lack of parking would seriously affect their businesses and therefore they would receive far fewer tips. The experiment began on Friday evening and ended at 2am on Sunday, 30 September 2018.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...l-tramo-de-la-gustavo-mejia-ricart-EI10907366
The time has come to renew marbetes
It is that time again, when the Tax Agency (DGII) begins the process of renewing the “marbete” otherwise known as the Tax for Vehicular Circulation Permit 2018 – 2019. Beginning on Monday, 1 October 2018, and lasting until 6 January 2019, the owners of motor vehicles in the Dominican Republic, some 1,814,324, will be responsible for renewing the stickers, either at commercial banks, savings and loan associations or the offices of the DGII. All payments at the banks and savings and loan associations and DGI I offices must be in cash.
The stickers can also be renewed online at www.dgii.gov.do. Those who do the online renewal will receive their new sticker at their office or place of residence according to their wishes. These online facilities are available through 7 December 2018.
The taxes this year will be the same as the taxes last year: RD $1,504 vehicles older than five years, and RD $3,000 for newer vehicles. After 7 January 2019, late-comers will be charged a special fee and this facility will only be available until Friday, 8 February, 2019. Generally speaking those who fail to obtain the new “marbete” and attempt to drive with an expired sticker are risking receiving a serious fine and the towing (at their cost) of their vehicle.
http://www.dgii.gov.do/noticias/Pag...rada-de-renovacion-del-Marbete-2018-2019.aspx
Ministry of Environment gives green light to bus terminal
Despite major opposition by residents in Santo Domingo East, the Ministry of Environment has given green light for the construction of a bus terminal in eastern Santo Domingo. The problem is that the site chosen by the Ministry of Public Works for the terminal cuts a chunk out of the Mirador del Este Park, the main recreational area of eastern Santo Domingo. Environmentalists argue the terminal will affect park activity and the flora fauna the Los Tres Ojos natural attraction, right beside the construction site.
As reported in an editorial in El Dia on 1 October 2018, the Ministry of Environment has issued the “no objection” letter to the construction. But El Dia reporters say that many of the technicians that are usually responsible for the issuing of the document at the Ministry, speaking anonymously, say they have no knowledge that this was issued.
The protests by residents are expected to continue. As reported in El Dia, the letter of “no objection” was issued on 7 September 2018 after the community had deposited a legal recourse protesting the construction of the terminal before the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) on 4 September 2018. The court ruled in favor of the suspension of the construction. But the Ministry of Public Works has not desisted from the construction. The TSA is the government court that revises the correct application of government procedures.
https://eldia.com.do/municipes-sde-se-movilizan-contra-una-terminal-frente-a-los-tres-ojos/
https://eldia.com.do/medio-ambiente-y-los-tres-ojos/
Gallup-Hoy: Nothing decided in Dominican politics
The Gallup-Hoy poll with findings published in Hoy newspaper on 1 October 2018 shows nothing is decided for the 2020 general elections. The poll was carried out from 16 to 21 September 2018.
To the question of “Who would you like to be the next President?,” 14% equally said they would favor the three leading would-be contenders – President Danilo Medina, former President Leonel Fernández for the PLD and former presidential candidate Luis Abinader for the PRM.
When asked who they thought would be the next President, 21.8% expected former President Leonel Fernandez to return to power, 18.6% mentioned President Danilo Medina and 12% Abinader. 33.9% said they were unsure.
Fernández was also shown to have the greatest negative perception rate, at 22.4%, even more than the 19.7% attributed to former President Hipolito Medina, and 15% to President Medina. Only 4% of those polled said they would never vote for Luis Abinader. Of the three, only Abinader has not been in power.
Among voters, there is much uncertainty. 40% said they do not know who will be the political candidates. 23% believe it should be former President Leonel Fernández. 15.8% say it should be President Danilo Medina. Among those partisan to the PLD, 33% said they would vote for Medina, 29.6% for Fernández and 22.7% is undecided.
None of the pre-candidacy hopefuls broke the 5% level in voter support. When people were asked who they thought should be the PLD presidential candidate in the 2020 general elections, the answers were:
Leonel Fernandez 23.6%, Danilo Medina 15.8%, Vice President Margarita Cedeño 4.1%, Francisco Domíngue Brito 2.7%, Santiago Mayor Abel Martínez 2.2%, president of the Senate Reinaldo Pared Perez 15%.
The 2015 Constitution bans Medina from running again from office, but the PLD party has majority in Congress and technically could push through a constitutional amendment to clear this impediment. Medina has said he would announce in March 2019 his decision regarding a second reelection bid. When PLD voters were asked who they would vote for if Medina was not the candidate, the response was 47.1% for Leonel Fernández and 10.5% for Margarita Cedeño.
Regarding the PRM, 32% believe economist Luis Abinader should repeat as the presidential candidate, followed by 10.3% for former President Hipólito Mejía, 8.8% for National District Mayor David Collado.
The best-positioned pre-candidates for the PRSC are Victor Bisonó (Ito) with 16%, José Hazim Frappier with 12%, and Federico Antún Batlle with 4%.
76% of those partisan to the PRD say they are uncertain who will be the party candidate. PRD president Miguel Vargas allied with the PLD into the 2016 elections. He is now the country’s Foreign Minister.
Former AlPais presidential candidate, Guillermo Moreno, was named the better positioned minority party pre-candidate, with 30% of voter favor.
http://hoy.com.do/encuesta-hoy-5/
Dominican Army begins Operation Border Fence
The Dominican Army has begun Operation “Border Fence” as it seeks to reinforce certain critical areas considered vulnerable along the Dominican-Haitian border. The Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Ruben Dario Paulino Sem, said that some 360 soldiers, nearly a battalion, from the Dominican Air Force, Armada, and Army are taking part in the operation. He said the new force is complemented by additional agents sent by the Migration and Customs Agency, and the National Environmental Protection Agency (Senpa), among others.
Army commander, Major General Estanislao Gonell, currently on duty to supervise the border, vulnerable areas are being reinforced with new force.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ponen-en-marcha-cerco-fronterizo-con-360-militares-GA10896022
Haiti investigates its diplomatic personnel after Diario Libre stories
Following a series of reports published in the Diario Libre regarding human trafficking to and from Haiti, the Haitian government announced a commission would be sent to Santo Domingo to investigate the allegations of a mafia at the consulate. Likewise, the Haitian government announced a temporary suspension of the issuing of passports at the consulate.
Embassy personnel confirmed that an investigation is ongoing after Diario Libre published a four part series of irregularities in people and document flow and the existence of a mafia that trafficked Dominicans to Chile by passing these off as Haitians and for which fake birth certificates and passports were created. The Diario Libre report, “From Hispaniola to Chile: the Mafia of Another American Dream,” showed evidence that pointed to the possible involvement of Haitian diplomats and officials within this network.
The series on Unpunished Traffic also revealed how the trafficking of Haitians continues along the border, often times with the complicity of Dominican immigration and military officials. The series documented serious irregularities among these border agents, including collecting “tolls” to the immigrants. Neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Migration Agency in the Dominican Republic have been available to comment on the finding by the investigative reporters.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...tras-investigacion-de-diario-libre-AA10896402
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...consulados-de-republica-dominicana-BJ10912210
UN agencies call for DR to reduce rate of teenage pregnancies
The United Nations is asking the Dominican Republic to step up efforts to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies. In the Dominican Republic, 22% of teenagers, ages 12 to 19, have had a pregnancy. The critical UN press release was published on the occasion of the celebration of the World Day for Non-Planned Teenage Pregnancies and the National Day for the Prevention of Pregnancies in Teenagers. The teenage pregnancy rate doubles for the poor and the highest concentrations of teenage girls are in the southern and Cibao provinces. Several United Nations agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP) have been collaborating with the Dominican government to reduce teenage pregnancies.
https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado...zar-medidas-reducir-embarazo-adolescente.html
https://www.unicef.org/republicadom...tsChildMarriage_CountryBriefDR.compressed.pdf
Current predictions call for functioning stock market in about three years
Local Santo Domingo Stock Exchange stockbroker Santiago Camarena of Alpha Investments is hopeful that in less than three years companies will be putting their shares on a public market. At present, the Santo Domingo Stock Exchange only deals in commercial paper. Camarena is optimistic that by then tourism, agriculture, construction, real estate and public-private alliances will start to benefit from capital markets.
The stockbroker forecast that “companies that decide not to participate in the stock market are going to realize that it is going to be much more difficult to compete.” He said the local stock market has, little by little, consolidated itself and that the regulations will be approved to strengthen the sector by the end of 2019.
In an interview in Diario Libre, Camarena highlighted: “A strong stock market is a requirement for a developing nation that wishes to achieve a stable and robust economy.” He remarked that at the present time the Dominican stock market is highly concentrated with debt certificates from the government. About 96% of the bonds that are traded in the market are issued by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic and by the Ministry of Hacienda. He noted that on the one hand there is very low risk because these are government issued certificates, but on the other hand, this concentration is very high.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...as-locales-podrian-emitir-acciones-OA10897955
Judge awards RD$1.7 million to employee, but was it excessive?
A small businesswoman complained via her social media accounts that the judge at the Labor Court in La Vega handed down a sentence that would force her to pay RD$1,667,995.37 to an employee who earned RD$8,000 per month, and who had worked at the company for just three months and 25 days.
Yeidry Reyes Luciano says that judge Odri Reyes Nuñez disallowed the evidence deposited in the court, including bank deposits, Social Security pay stubs and proof that her employee, Salangy Gertrudis Cruz Gomez worked for her and received a salary of RD$8,000 per month and not the RD$40,000 contained in the complaint filed by lawyers José Miguel Tejada Almonte and Juan Tejada Almonte.
The employee’s defense claimed the firing was unjustified and that furthermore the employee was not paid the proper severance fees nor her vacations.
Nonpayment of this huge fine would imply judicial embargoes on her accounts and her company. Reyes Luciano, very indignant, called upon everyone who had a similar experience or had been sued by these lawyers to get into contact with her.
The case is important because it could set a legal precedent.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...la-vega-por-sentencia-cuestionable-HI10902764
https://noticiassin.com/denuncia-esta-a-punto-de-perder-sus-propiedades-tras-engano-de-empleada/
New DA dumps 25,000 pieces of evidence on the court in Peravia case
The Office of the District Attorney for the National District brought in some 25,000 pieces of evidence to the First Collegiate Court of the National District with which they intend to establish the participation of each of the indicted on charges of fraud for some RD $1.4 billion committed at the Banco Peravia.
The newly appointed National District Attorney Rosalba Ramos took charge of the case last week for the Justice Department. The interviewing of the witnesses from both the public sector and private sector would continue. More than 100 witnesses have been presented by the Justice Department and so far only 13 have appeared in court.
Lawyers Cesar Amadeo Peralta and Danilo Lapaix, who represents 16 of the clients cheated by the bank, believe that these 25,000 pieces of evidence supplied by the Justice Department and admitted as evidence by the First Court of Instruction of the National District in the preliminary phase, will be enough to convict all of the accused.
http://elnacional.com.do/fiscalia-deposita-25-mil-pruebas-fraude-peravia/
A poorly executed self-robbery backfires on its “victim”
At the start of the weekend, a news story was the talk on TV and social media that described a man having been found bound hand and feet in a vehicle in the Naco section of the National District. However, National Police investigators determined that it was a poorly designed attempt to carry off a self-robbery for RD$84,000. The author of this ill-fated attempt was identified as Yeison Gabriel Almonte Mejia, 28, who lives in Cristo Rey and is an employee (now probably an ex-employee) of the Tren Construction Company.
Almonte Mejia called the company saying that he had been assaulted and left tied up inside a vehicle. In a search, the Police found the RD$84,000 in Almonte Mejia’s house.
In a press release, the Police said that Almonte Mejia tied himself inside of a Ford Explorer and then called the company and said that he was suffocating. The Police arrived on the scene very quickly. The Police spokesperson Frank Felix Durand Mejia had previously told reporters that there were serious inconsistencies with the testimony of Almonte Mejia.
According to the Police note, the alleged criminal admitted under interrogation that this was a self-robbery.
http://www.policianacional.gob.do/n...ombre-encontrado-amarrado-dentro-de-vehiculo/
Dominican Professional Baseball League desists in honoring Matos Berrido
After protest commentaries flooded social media and then were picked up by radio, television, and print media commentators, the Dominican Professional Baseball League (Lidom) reported at the end of last week that they were postponing, without any future date, the activity they had programmed to announce the dedication of this year’s winter league baseball tournament to the former President of the league Leonardo Matos Berrido. The Lidom used the terms “understandable reasons” but did not name Matos Berrido.
The massive rejection of Matos Berrido came in rejection to his being honored by the baseball tournament when on 31 October 1982, he killed his wife, Edith Gomez, in the parking lot of the Embajador Hotel. She died of a bullet wound in the back of her neck. At the time, he was convicted of the crime and sentenced to but 15 months in jail, a decision that had always been rejected.
TV host Mariasela Alvarez aired a video whereby she carried statements by the oldest daughter of Edith Gomez, the murdered wife of Matos Berrido, who had chosen to remain quiet all these years in the name of her brother and sister, off spring of Matos Berrido with her mother. The daughter was a first daughter of her mother by another marriage. The full interview did not air after her half siblings again convinced the sister to keep a low profile. But Mariasela read a summary of the interview, recalling the tragedy that happened 36 years ago.
Despite the murder, Matos Berrido would go on to enjoy major positions in government at the Central Electoral Board and the National Housing Bank (BNV), from where he would receive a millionaire pension. Afterwards he was named to head the Dominican Professional Winter League, where he was in charge for 26 years. As reported, his severance from the Lidom was RD$13 million.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...atos-berrido-tras-fuertes-criticas-IA10896385
http://laverdadinformativa.blogspot.com/2008/09/pensin-y-beneficios-de-matos-berrido.html
http://hoy.com.do/video-mariasela-alvarez-narra-version-de-hija-de-mujer-que-mato-matos-berrido/
https://elpregonerord.com/?p=24800
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM8PDn256O4
Vlad Guerrero tweets appreciation of Lidom honor
The great Vladimir Guerrero, the most recent Dominican inductee in the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, as well as the first Dominican position player to be so honored, tweeted his appreciation to the executives of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) for dedicating this year’s tournament in his honor. The previous nominee for the dedication of the tournament was the former league president Leonardo Matos Berrido. His nomination created a firestorm of public rejection.
The Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Tournament dedicated to Vladimir Guerrero begins on Saturday, 13 October 2018 with the Leones del Escogido playing the Gigantes Del Cibao at the Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo. In the Francisco Micheli Stadium in La Romana, the Toros del Este will begin what is often called “The Sugarcane Series” when they face off against the regional rivals, the Estrellas Orientales of San Pedro de Macoris. Finally the defending champions, the Aguilas Cibaeñas will host their past playoff rival, the Tigres del Licey in the Estadio Cibao in Santiago.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...or-dedicatoria-de-torneo-2018-2019-EI10901476
DR sweeps regional tennis table tournament
The Dominican Republic’s men and women’s team swept all the gold medals during the 60th Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation Team Championships inside the National Arena that ended in Jamaica on 29 September 2018.
The women played Guyana in the final, winning 3-0. The Dominican men then played Guyana and the final ended 3-1.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/spor...nis-championships-team-titles_V2?profile=1511
Minister says Punta Catalina will start up next month
Jose Ramon Peralta: Importing 3 power barges to fill in the demand gaps
Omsa to offer 24/7 service by 2020?
Gustavo Mejia Ricart stretch turns pedestrian over the weekend
The time has come to renew marbetes
Ministry of Environment gives green light to bus terminal
Gallup-Hoy: Nothing decided in Dominican politics
Dominican Army begins Operation Border Fence
Haiti investigates its diplomatic personnel after Diario Libre stories
UN agencies call for DR to reduce rate of teenage pregnancies
Current predictions call for functioning stock market in about three years
Judge awards RD$1.7 million to employee, but was it excessive?
New DA dumps 25,000 pieces of evidence on the court in Peravia case
A poorly executed self-robbery backfires on its “victim”
Dominican Professional Baseball League desists in honoring Matos Berrido
Vlad Guerrero tweets appreciation of Lidom honor
DR sweeps regional tennis table tournament
Government sets aside RD$4 billion for second tramway
The government continues with its plans to build a second tramway in Los Alcarrizos in Santo Domingo. RD$4 billion has been allotted in the 2019 National Budget. The 2019 National Budget has been set at RD$921.81 billion as submitted to the National Congress.
The RD$4 billion will cover the construction of the second cable car route. The route will start in Los Alcarrizos, to the West of Santo Domingo and cover 11 kms with six stations. The first station is at Puente Blanco in Los Alcarrizos; the second station is at the entrance to the municipality; and the others are on Monumental Avenue, the entry to Manoguayabo, the 27 February extension, the middle of Herrera and the last one at Kilometer 9 on the Duarte Highway at the Maria Montez station of Line 2 of the Santo Domingo Metro.
The first skylift, across Ozama River, reportedly cost US$42 million, or approximately RD$2 billion, and travels five kilometers.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...truir-segunda-linea-del-teleferico-GI10906761
https://almomento.net/danilo-medina-inaugura-teleferico-santo-domingo-costo-us42-millones/
https://telefericodesantodomingo.wordpress.com/
Minister says Punta Catalina will start up next month
Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramon Peralta, told reporters that the coal-fired boilers at the electricity generating facility under construction at Punta Catalina will be operating in October 2018. He made the statements in an interview on Enfoque Matinal TV program on CDN.
He expects that by December, the facility will begin providing 40MW to the national electricity system. By February 2019, he said that the plant would be contributing 300MW to the system.
At the same time, Peralta said that businessmen from the United States who met with President Medina late last week in New York City are interested in acquiring 50% of the shares of the generating facility. He said that President Medina met with different representatives of investment banks as well as private investors from the United States because the state is interested in offering 50% of the shares to the private sector.
Peralta told the press that with the 210MW that will be contributed by AES Andres by the end of October plus the 40MW from Punta Catalina, the energy supply will be notably improved.
He noted that the generation of electricity has begun to improve with 110 MW from AES Andres entering the national grid. It had originally been announced it would take a year for the plant to return to full operation. Peralta said the government still has not determined clearly what caused the shutdown of the AES facility.
Peralta announced that administration is meanwhile resorting to imported emergency power barges to meet the electricity demand. He said the government has contracted three 33 megawatt plants that will be arriving from Puerto Rico. The plants are filling the electricity gap after the AES Andres natural gas-fired plant unexpectedly went out of service. The plant is expected to be generating its full 300MW by February 2019. The plant then will go out of service for maintenance while the three 33-megawatt barges make up for the difference.
Peralta says that the electricity situation will stabilize when the Punta Catalina coal-fired power plant provides 300MW by February 2019.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emM2XBazGGs
http://elnacional.com.do/peralta-asegura-encienden-a-catalina-el-proximo-mes/
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/09/28/panorama/pais/peralta-anuncia-llegada-de-tres-plantas-gas/
Omsa to offer 24/7 service by 2020?
The director of the Metropolitan Office for Bus Services (OMSA), Hector Mojica, told El Caribe reporters that starting in 2020, there will be 24-hour bus service for passengers in Greater Santo Domingo and Santiago.
Omsa will be starting new routes in response to popular demand, such as the recently initiated Av. Abraham Lincoln. He said the routes are being incorporated based on studies carried out by the National Institute for Traffic and Ground Transport (Intrant).
Mojica explained that Omsa has 245 buses currently in service from 6am to 11pm. He said when he was named to the post there were 500 buses out of service, of which 300 were identified as repairable. He announced purchase process for 200 new units.
Mojica was appointed after a major corruption scandal was revealed at the OMSA and the former director, Manuel Rivas, is accused in the case. He is also suspect of participating in the murder of lawyer Yuniol Ramírez, who was investigating corruption at OMSA.
According to Mojica, Omsa buses transport around 500,000 passengers a week, and two million a month. Last year, overall 24 million passengers used Omsa buses. He said the goal is to transport 27 million passengers a year. Mojica said the fares will not be increased and soon new systems will be installed for electronic fare collecting. The main routes in Greater Santo Domingo are: Av. 27 de Febrero (from the Hipódromo to Km 9 on Duarte Highway), Corridor Los Ríos; Corridor Juan Bosch and Charles de Gaulle. These routes serve as feeders to the Santo Domingo metro and skylift.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2018/09...culara-24-horas-al-dia-en-corredores-del-gsd/
Gustavo Mejia Ricart stretch turns pedestrian over the weekend
Just as it had been announced, the National Institute of Traffic and Ground Transportation (Intrant) closed down over the weekend a section of Gustavo Mejia Ricart Avenue in the National District to promote alternative means of transportation “that are more sustainable.” At 7:45pm, the stretch of the Avenue between Lope de Vega and Tiradentes (East-West) was closed to vehicle traffic. A 911 service ambulance was on call and members of the traffic police from Intrant were on duty at both ends of this stretch of the Avenue. Some of the establishments along the short route set out chairs and tables to serve the pedestrians and a few people, very few, rode their bicycles.
A number of people questioned by reporters from the Diario Libre seemed to be pleased with the initiative. However, restaurant employees interviewed on the row complained that the lack of parking would seriously affect their businesses and therefore they would receive far fewer tips. The experiment began on Friday evening and ended at 2am on Sunday, 30 September 2018.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...l-tramo-de-la-gustavo-mejia-ricart-EI10907366
The time has come to renew marbetes
It is that time again, when the Tax Agency (DGII) begins the process of renewing the “marbete” otherwise known as the Tax for Vehicular Circulation Permit 2018 – 2019. Beginning on Monday, 1 October 2018, and lasting until 6 January 2019, the owners of motor vehicles in the Dominican Republic, some 1,814,324, will be responsible for renewing the stickers, either at commercial banks, savings and loan associations or the offices of the DGII. All payments at the banks and savings and loan associations and DGI I offices must be in cash.
The stickers can also be renewed online at www.dgii.gov.do. Those who do the online renewal will receive their new sticker at their office or place of residence according to their wishes. These online facilities are available through 7 December 2018.
The taxes this year will be the same as the taxes last year: RD $1,504 vehicles older than five years, and RD $3,000 for newer vehicles. After 7 January 2019, late-comers will be charged a special fee and this facility will only be available until Friday, 8 February, 2019. Generally speaking those who fail to obtain the new “marbete” and attempt to drive with an expired sticker are risking receiving a serious fine and the towing (at their cost) of their vehicle.
http://www.dgii.gov.do/noticias/Pag...rada-de-renovacion-del-Marbete-2018-2019.aspx
Ministry of Environment gives green light to bus terminal
Despite major opposition by residents in Santo Domingo East, the Ministry of Environment has given green light for the construction of a bus terminal in eastern Santo Domingo. The problem is that the site chosen by the Ministry of Public Works for the terminal cuts a chunk out of the Mirador del Este Park, the main recreational area of eastern Santo Domingo. Environmentalists argue the terminal will affect park activity and the flora fauna the Los Tres Ojos natural attraction, right beside the construction site.
As reported in an editorial in El Dia on 1 October 2018, the Ministry of Environment has issued the “no objection” letter to the construction. But El Dia reporters say that many of the technicians that are usually responsible for the issuing of the document at the Ministry, speaking anonymously, say they have no knowledge that this was issued.
The protests by residents are expected to continue. As reported in El Dia, the letter of “no objection” was issued on 7 September 2018 after the community had deposited a legal recourse protesting the construction of the terminal before the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) on 4 September 2018. The court ruled in favor of the suspension of the construction. But the Ministry of Public Works has not desisted from the construction. The TSA is the government court that revises the correct application of government procedures.
https://eldia.com.do/municipes-sde-se-movilizan-contra-una-terminal-frente-a-los-tres-ojos/
https://eldia.com.do/medio-ambiente-y-los-tres-ojos/
Gallup-Hoy: Nothing decided in Dominican politics
The Gallup-Hoy poll with findings published in Hoy newspaper on 1 October 2018 shows nothing is decided for the 2020 general elections. The poll was carried out from 16 to 21 September 2018.
To the question of “Who would you like to be the next President?,” 14% equally said they would favor the three leading would-be contenders – President Danilo Medina, former President Leonel Fernández for the PLD and former presidential candidate Luis Abinader for the PRM.
When asked who they thought would be the next President, 21.8% expected former President Leonel Fernandez to return to power, 18.6% mentioned President Danilo Medina and 12% Abinader. 33.9% said they were unsure.
Fernández was also shown to have the greatest negative perception rate, at 22.4%, even more than the 19.7% attributed to former President Hipolito Medina, and 15% to President Medina. Only 4% of those polled said they would never vote for Luis Abinader. Of the three, only Abinader has not been in power.
Among voters, there is much uncertainty. 40% said they do not know who will be the political candidates. 23% believe it should be former President Leonel Fernández. 15.8% say it should be President Danilo Medina. Among those partisan to the PLD, 33% said they would vote for Medina, 29.6% for Fernández and 22.7% is undecided.
None of the pre-candidacy hopefuls broke the 5% level in voter support. When people were asked who they thought should be the PLD presidential candidate in the 2020 general elections, the answers were:
Leonel Fernandez 23.6%, Danilo Medina 15.8%, Vice President Margarita Cedeño 4.1%, Francisco Domíngue Brito 2.7%, Santiago Mayor Abel Martínez 2.2%, president of the Senate Reinaldo Pared Perez 15%.
The 2015 Constitution bans Medina from running again from office, but the PLD party has majority in Congress and technically could push through a constitutional amendment to clear this impediment. Medina has said he would announce in March 2019 his decision regarding a second reelection bid. When PLD voters were asked who they would vote for if Medina was not the candidate, the response was 47.1% for Leonel Fernández and 10.5% for Margarita Cedeño.
Regarding the PRM, 32% believe economist Luis Abinader should repeat as the presidential candidate, followed by 10.3% for former President Hipólito Mejía, 8.8% for National District Mayor David Collado.
The best-positioned pre-candidates for the PRSC are Victor Bisonó (Ito) with 16%, José Hazim Frappier with 12%, and Federico Antún Batlle with 4%.
76% of those partisan to the PRD say they are uncertain who will be the party candidate. PRD president Miguel Vargas allied with the PLD into the 2016 elections. He is now the country’s Foreign Minister.
Former AlPais presidential candidate, Guillermo Moreno, was named the better positioned minority party pre-candidate, with 30% of voter favor.
http://hoy.com.do/encuesta-hoy-5/
Dominican Army begins Operation Border Fence
The Dominican Army has begun Operation “Border Fence” as it seeks to reinforce certain critical areas considered vulnerable along the Dominican-Haitian border. The Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Ruben Dario Paulino Sem, said that some 360 soldiers, nearly a battalion, from the Dominican Air Force, Armada, and Army are taking part in the operation. He said the new force is complemented by additional agents sent by the Migration and Customs Agency, and the National Environmental Protection Agency (Senpa), among others.
Army commander, Major General Estanislao Gonell, currently on duty to supervise the border, vulnerable areas are being reinforced with new force.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ponen-en-marcha-cerco-fronterizo-con-360-militares-GA10896022
Haiti investigates its diplomatic personnel after Diario Libre stories
Following a series of reports published in the Diario Libre regarding human trafficking to and from Haiti, the Haitian government announced a commission would be sent to Santo Domingo to investigate the allegations of a mafia at the consulate. Likewise, the Haitian government announced a temporary suspension of the issuing of passports at the consulate.
Embassy personnel confirmed that an investigation is ongoing after Diario Libre published a four part series of irregularities in people and document flow and the existence of a mafia that trafficked Dominicans to Chile by passing these off as Haitians and for which fake birth certificates and passports were created. The Diario Libre report, “From Hispaniola to Chile: the Mafia of Another American Dream,” showed evidence that pointed to the possible involvement of Haitian diplomats and officials within this network.
The series on Unpunished Traffic also revealed how the trafficking of Haitians continues along the border, often times with the complicity of Dominican immigration and military officials. The series documented serious irregularities among these border agents, including collecting “tolls” to the immigrants. Neither the Ministry of Defense nor the Migration Agency in the Dominican Republic have been available to comment on the finding by the investigative reporters.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...tras-investigacion-de-diario-libre-AA10896402
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...consulados-de-republica-dominicana-BJ10912210
UN agencies call for DR to reduce rate of teenage pregnancies
The United Nations is asking the Dominican Republic to step up efforts to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancies. In the Dominican Republic, 22% of teenagers, ages 12 to 19, have had a pregnancy. The critical UN press release was published on the occasion of the celebration of the World Day for Non-Planned Teenage Pregnancies and the National Day for the Prevention of Pregnancies in Teenagers. The teenage pregnancy rate doubles for the poor and the highest concentrations of teenage girls are in the southern and Cibao provinces. Several United Nations agencies (UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP) have been collaborating with the Dominican government to reduce teenage pregnancies.
https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado...zar-medidas-reducir-embarazo-adolescente.html
https://www.unicef.org/republicadom...tsChildMarriage_CountryBriefDR.compressed.pdf
Current predictions call for functioning stock market in about three years
Local Santo Domingo Stock Exchange stockbroker Santiago Camarena of Alpha Investments is hopeful that in less than three years companies will be putting their shares on a public market. At present, the Santo Domingo Stock Exchange only deals in commercial paper. Camarena is optimistic that by then tourism, agriculture, construction, real estate and public-private alliances will start to benefit from capital markets.
The stockbroker forecast that “companies that decide not to participate in the stock market are going to realize that it is going to be much more difficult to compete.” He said the local stock market has, little by little, consolidated itself and that the regulations will be approved to strengthen the sector by the end of 2019.
In an interview in Diario Libre, Camarena highlighted: “A strong stock market is a requirement for a developing nation that wishes to achieve a stable and robust economy.” He remarked that at the present time the Dominican stock market is highly concentrated with debt certificates from the government. About 96% of the bonds that are traded in the market are issued by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic and by the Ministry of Hacienda. He noted that on the one hand there is very low risk because these are government issued certificates, but on the other hand, this concentration is very high.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...as-locales-podrian-emitir-acciones-OA10897955
Judge awards RD$1.7 million to employee, but was it excessive?
A small businesswoman complained via her social media accounts that the judge at the Labor Court in La Vega handed down a sentence that would force her to pay RD$1,667,995.37 to an employee who earned RD$8,000 per month, and who had worked at the company for just three months and 25 days.
Yeidry Reyes Luciano says that judge Odri Reyes Nuñez disallowed the evidence deposited in the court, including bank deposits, Social Security pay stubs and proof that her employee, Salangy Gertrudis Cruz Gomez worked for her and received a salary of RD$8,000 per month and not the RD$40,000 contained in the complaint filed by lawyers José Miguel Tejada Almonte and Juan Tejada Almonte.
The employee’s defense claimed the firing was unjustified and that furthermore the employee was not paid the proper severance fees nor her vacations.
Nonpayment of this huge fine would imply judicial embargoes on her accounts and her company. Reyes Luciano, very indignant, called upon everyone who had a similar experience or had been sued by these lawyers to get into contact with her.
The case is important because it could set a legal precedent.
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...la-vega-por-sentencia-cuestionable-HI10902764
https://noticiassin.com/denuncia-esta-a-punto-de-perder-sus-propiedades-tras-engano-de-empleada/
New DA dumps 25,000 pieces of evidence on the court in Peravia case
The Office of the District Attorney for the National District brought in some 25,000 pieces of evidence to the First Collegiate Court of the National District with which they intend to establish the participation of each of the indicted on charges of fraud for some RD $1.4 billion committed at the Banco Peravia.
The newly appointed National District Attorney Rosalba Ramos took charge of the case last week for the Justice Department. The interviewing of the witnesses from both the public sector and private sector would continue. More than 100 witnesses have been presented by the Justice Department and so far only 13 have appeared in court.
Lawyers Cesar Amadeo Peralta and Danilo Lapaix, who represents 16 of the clients cheated by the bank, believe that these 25,000 pieces of evidence supplied by the Justice Department and admitted as evidence by the First Court of Instruction of the National District in the preliminary phase, will be enough to convict all of the accused.
http://elnacional.com.do/fiscalia-deposita-25-mil-pruebas-fraude-peravia/
A poorly executed self-robbery backfires on its “victim”
At the start of the weekend, a news story was the talk on TV and social media that described a man having been found bound hand and feet in a vehicle in the Naco section of the National District. However, National Police investigators determined that it was a poorly designed attempt to carry off a self-robbery for RD$84,000. The author of this ill-fated attempt was identified as Yeison Gabriel Almonte Mejia, 28, who lives in Cristo Rey and is an employee (now probably an ex-employee) of the Tren Construction Company.
Almonte Mejia called the company saying that he had been assaulted and left tied up inside a vehicle. In a search, the Police found the RD$84,000 in Almonte Mejia’s house.
In a press release, the Police said that Almonte Mejia tied himself inside of a Ford Explorer and then called the company and said that he was suffocating. The Police arrived on the scene very quickly. The Police spokesperson Frank Felix Durand Mejia had previously told reporters that there were serious inconsistencies with the testimony of Almonte Mejia.
According to the Police note, the alleged criminal admitted under interrogation that this was a self-robbery.
http://www.policianacional.gob.do/n...ombre-encontrado-amarrado-dentro-de-vehiculo/
Dominican Professional Baseball League desists in honoring Matos Berrido
After protest commentaries flooded social media and then were picked up by radio, television, and print media commentators, the Dominican Professional Baseball League (Lidom) reported at the end of last week that they were postponing, without any future date, the activity they had programmed to announce the dedication of this year’s winter league baseball tournament to the former President of the league Leonardo Matos Berrido. The Lidom used the terms “understandable reasons” but did not name Matos Berrido.
The massive rejection of Matos Berrido came in rejection to his being honored by the baseball tournament when on 31 October 1982, he killed his wife, Edith Gomez, in the parking lot of the Embajador Hotel. She died of a bullet wound in the back of her neck. At the time, he was convicted of the crime and sentenced to but 15 months in jail, a decision that had always been rejected.
TV host Mariasela Alvarez aired a video whereby she carried statements by the oldest daughter of Edith Gomez, the murdered wife of Matos Berrido, who had chosen to remain quiet all these years in the name of her brother and sister, off spring of Matos Berrido with her mother. The daughter was a first daughter of her mother by another marriage. The full interview did not air after her half siblings again convinced the sister to keep a low profile. But Mariasela read a summary of the interview, recalling the tragedy that happened 36 years ago.
Despite the murder, Matos Berrido would go on to enjoy major positions in government at the Central Electoral Board and the National Housing Bank (BNV), from where he would receive a millionaire pension. Afterwards he was named to head the Dominican Professional Winter League, where he was in charge for 26 years. As reported, his severance from the Lidom was RD$13 million.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...atos-berrido-tras-fuertes-criticas-IA10896385
http://laverdadinformativa.blogspot.com/2008/09/pensin-y-beneficios-de-matos-berrido.html
http://hoy.com.do/video-mariasela-alvarez-narra-version-de-hija-de-mujer-que-mato-matos-berrido/
https://elpregonerord.com/?p=24800
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM8PDn256O4
Vlad Guerrero tweets appreciation of Lidom honor
The great Vladimir Guerrero, the most recent Dominican inductee in the Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York, as well as the first Dominican position player to be so honored, tweeted his appreciation to the executives of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) for dedicating this year’s tournament in his honor. The previous nominee for the dedication of the tournament was the former league president Leonardo Matos Berrido. His nomination created a firestorm of public rejection.
The Dominican Winter Professional Baseball Tournament dedicated to Vladimir Guerrero begins on Saturday, 13 October 2018 with the Leones del Escogido playing the Gigantes Del Cibao at the Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo. In the Francisco Micheli Stadium in La Romana, the Toros del Este will begin what is often called “The Sugarcane Series” when they face off against the regional rivals, the Estrellas Orientales of San Pedro de Macoris. Finally the defending champions, the Aguilas Cibaeñas will host their past playoff rival, the Tigres del Licey in the Estadio Cibao in Santiago.
https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...or-dedicatoria-de-torneo-2018-2019-EI10901476
DR sweeps regional tennis table tournament
The Dominican Republic’s men and women’s team swept all the gold medals during the 60th Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation Team Championships inside the National Arena that ended in Jamaica on 29 September 2018.
The women played Guyana in the final, winning 3-0. The Dominican men then played Guyana and the final ended 3-1.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/spor...nis-championships-team-titles_V2?profile=1511