DR1 Daily News - Wednesday, 20 March 2019

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Anthony Santos wins El Gran Soberano
Metro cars expected in August-September 2019
Aviation agreement signed with Peru
Many Dominicans overseas not allowed to vote
Municipal officials still have not submitted asset declaration
JCE passes 40% of cost of primaries to political parties
Dominican Republic loses territory to Haiti
Children quitting school
Forest fires on the increase
Dominican architect wins gold
Three months pre-trial custody to “Niño Malo”



Anthony Santos wins El Gran Soberano
Anthony Santos was honored during the 35th Soberano Awards for his contributions to positioning bachata as an international dance music. The Dominican Republic has requested that the Unesco list Dominican bachata as intangible cultural heritage. Santos received the honor from Emely Baldera, president of the Dominican Show Business Writers Association and Franklin León, president of Cervecería Nacional Dominicana, the sponsor of the event. On the same evening, Anthony Santos had been honored as the Best Bachata Performer and for the Best Bachata (Mal educado) for 2018.

Another big winner of the Soberano Awards was Alá Jazá (Emmanuel Jiménez), who won in the categories of Merengue of the Year (Nadie se ****), Best Collaboration (Mi forma de ser) and Street Merengue. Alá Jazá is credited for creating the 21st Century style of urban merengue known as MamWali, that merges merengue and trap music. He is also an acclaimed mambo, bachata, and ballad singer.

In the movie category, Tabaré Blanchard took to the stage of the National Theater on three occasions to receive awards for “Veneno,” the story of wrestler Jack Veneno. In the theater category, the big winner was Juancito Rodríguez for “Agosto.”

Another highlight of the evening was the performance by singer Juliana O’Neal, who is battling cancer. Merengue star Alex Bueno performed his long-time merengue hit “Colegiala” on the stage. Danny Rivera sang the music of the late Anthony Ríos. Others that were remembered that evening were radio innovator Teo Veras, singer Luchi ******* and movie-maker Fernando Báez in a segment with Lily Goodman.

There were many expressions of solidarity to Venezuelan artists who expressed their appreciation to Dominicans for local support.

See the list of the award winners:
https://www.cdn.com.do/2019/03/20/listado-de-los-ganadores-en-premio-soberano-2019/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebzedSk9a0
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ala-jaza-mn0003064876/biography


Aviation agreement signed with Peru
Foreign Relations Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado has signed an aviation agreement with his Peruvian counterpart, Néstor Popolizi. Vargas Maldonado says the open skies agreement will increase air travel between both countries. The agreement was signed at the end of consultations between the two countries that took place in Peru. Also present at the meeting was the president of the Civil Aviation Board, Luis Ernesto Camilo.

During the visit to Peru, Foreign Minister Vargas Maldonado also signed agreements for extradition and management of natural disaster risks between the Civil Defense institutes of the Dominican Republic and Peru.

http://www.mirex.gob.do/medios/noticias/canciller-miguel-vargas-suscribe-tres-acuerdos-con-peru


Metro cars expected in August-September 2019
Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta announced that new metro cars are scheduled to arrive from August to September. The cars are needed due to the service demand of the Santo Domingo Metro. They will be added to Line 2 of the Santo Domingo Metro.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...re-agosto-y-septiembre-de-este-ano-GF12350521


Many Dominicans overseas not allowed to vote
Electoral Regime Law 15-19 prohibits Dominicans with dual nationality who have served in the Armed Forces in another country from voting in elections in the Dominican Republic, be they municipal, congressional or presidential. They are also banned from standing as deputies overseas. This means that those Dominicans who live in the United States cannot vote in the next elections if they have served in the US military.

In addition, if a Dominican has served as a government official in his other country overseas, but did not ask for prior permission from the Dominican government, the person is also ineligible to vote.

Also not allowed to vote are those Dominicans who have been sentenced to jail for criminal offences until they have completed the rehabilitation time frame.

Finally, if they are fugitives from the Dominican legal system, they cannot vote. Those who have taken part in any actions of spying, treason or conspiracy against the Dominican state are also ineligible to vote.

The simultaneous primaries that will take place on 6 October 2019 will not be held overseas due to the high cost and logistical issues of the primaries.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...ron-como-militares-en-otros-paises-PE12347239


Municipal officials still have not submitted asset declaration
President of the Audit Committee, Hugo Alvarez has revealed that 3,498 government officials, most municipal, have not made the legal declaration of their assets as laid down in Law 311-14 and due to this they are subject to sanctions. However, he said that all of the officials in central government had submitted their reports and only two legislators had not.

He said that the big problem is with the municipalities where mayors and councilors have yet to comply with the mandate. He called on the Dominican Municipal Federation (Fedomu) to tell their members to comply with the law. He went on to say that the law dictates that those who do not comply should be removed from the position.

http://hoy.com.do/camara-de-cuentas-3498-funcionarios-no-han-hecho-su-declaracion-jurada-de-bienes/


JCE passes 40% of cost of primaries to political parties
The Central Electoral Board (JCE) proposed to political parties that these cover 40% of the cost of participating in the simultaneous primary day to choose their presidential candidates on 6 October 2019. According to JCE president, Julio César Castaños Guzmán, the PLD, the PRM, the PRD and AlPais will need to pay RD$380 million to the cost of the primaries. The JCE will cover the other 60% of the cost. The first three parties will pay RD$120 million each and the AlPais, a minority party, will pay RD$20 million. The funds will be deducted from the annual allotment the government contributes to political parties.

The Political Parties Law 33-18 had ordered the political parties to pick up the entire cost of the primaries. Nevertheless, the JCE proposes to cover 60% of the cost in order to test the automated voting system it wants to implement for the municipal, congressional and presidential elections in 2020 during the 6 October simultaneous primaries.


Dominican Republic loses territory to Haiti
The Dominican Republic is losing territory to Haitian migration. As reported in the Listín Diario, a motion in the Senate presented by the senator Adriano Sánchez Roa for Elías Piña has called for an exhaustive review of the border markers to comply with the Dominican-Haitian Border Treaty of 1929 and its review dated 1936. There are reports the country has already lost around 6,200 square kilometers to migration. As reported, thousands of Haitians have occupied Dominican land illegally, where they have built homes, businesses and farms along the border.

As reported in El Caribe, the government of Haiti recently recognized that the area in Carrizal, Elías Piña where the government is building a gate is Dominican territory.

"An analysis of the geo-located cartographic surveys and the verification of the geographical references was carried out, in comparison with the border between the two countries. As a result, according to the results of these studies, the Dominican infrastructures that were being disputed, and that are located between terminals RH / RD 181 and RH 182, are on the east side of the border and are located in Dominican territory," says the official statement issued by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Haiti.

A clash between violent Haitians and Dominican soldiers resulted in the death of one Haitian and injury of another last week. The Haitian authorities say it makes the matter public to avoid future clashes as that which occurred on Friday, 15 March 2019.

Senator Adriano Sánchez Roa said that the announcement by the government of Haiti opens the way for a strengthening of the bi-national trade and to continue combatting contraband between the two nations. He said El Carrizal is a place from where more Dominican exports can be made and where Haitians can source low-cost imports of food, construction materials and other needed goods.

The senator for the border province of Elías Piña congratulated Defense Minister General Paulino Sem and the Dominican soldiers for the defense of Dominican territory.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...ilometros-por-ocupacion-pacifica-de-haitianos
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/03...area-de-construccion-del-muro-en-el-carrizal/
http://hoy.com.do/cuando-la-frontera-suena/
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...turas-que-generaron-conflictos-en-la-frontera


Children quitting school
According to data from the Ministry of Education, school desertion is high. During the school year 2017 to 2018, a total of 40,206 students from the public, private and semi-official schools, were registered but dropped out during the school year. The largest number of dropouts were those registered in private schools, 31,314 students.

At least 19,627 deserted schools at the secondary level. Some 15,317 dropped out of elementary school. Some 5,242 started daycare, but stopped attending the classes.

The main reason for dropping out is the difficulty in getting to school and financial problems at home. In addition, many children, while still attending school, work after school in order to help the family finances.

https://listindiario.com/la-republi...tudiantes-desertaron-de-las-aulas-en-dos-anos


Forest fires on the increase
Forest fires are on the rise in the country that is now under a severe dry spell. There have been over 40 forest fires in the first 77 days of the year. Said to be the worst drought in 50 years, the forests are also suffering from an attack by plagues of beetles.

According to Gerónimo Abreu, head of the National Forest Fire Office at the Ministry of the Environment, the number of fires is higher than over the same period last year with the national parks being where the most fires have occurred.

In March alone, so far there have been more than 20 fires in the José Armando Bermúdez National Park, between Santiago Rodríguez and San José de las Matas, in Santiago province. Only last week there were six fires simultaneously in San José de las Matas, affecting around 16 hectares. Other areas affected by fires have been in Bahoruco and Los Haitises and the last forest fire was on Sunday 17 March in Guaigüí, La Vega.

The forest fire office works with two teams, one for actually fighting fires with 22 brigades across the country and the other with 300 brigades working to prevent fires and with reforestation.

Abreu said that usually the fires are caused deliberately by those who wish to plant crops or raise cattle. This year only four fires were caused by falling electric cables and the rest have all been caused by man.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/van-mas-de-40-fuegos-forestales-en-este-2019-LE12344197


Dominican architect wins gold
A Dominican architect has been awarded the “Emerging Architect of 2018” given by the International Design Awards (IDA) of Los Angeles, California.

The winner is Eric Alexander Batista Pérez. He won the Gold Award in the category of Symbolic Monuments and Structures for his design of the Taino Interpretation Center in the southwestern city of San Juan de la Maguana. He was competing against around 4,000 other projects from 90 countries.

Architect Batista explained that when he was in his fourth year of studying architecture, he visited the original monument that was in disrepair and abandoned and hence he redesigned it as his graduate thesis from the PUCMM School of Architecture in Santiago.

https://listindiario.com/la-vida/20...tecto-rd-que-gana-international-design-awards


Three months pre-trial custody to “Niño Malo”
Nicknamed “The Bad Boy,” Randy Reyes Marmolejos was ordered to serve three months in the Concepción Jail in La Vega. He was arrested last week at El Cibao International Airport after returning to Santiago from New York City where he traveled in March 2018 after learning the Police would arrest him. Reyes had uploaded a video of himself firing gunshots while driving his vehicle.

He is accused of violating the Firearms Law 631-16, High Tech Law 53-07 and Asset Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Law 155-17.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-por-hacer-disparos-en-via-publica-AF12351212
https://noticiassin.com/tres-meses-...-nino-malo-quien-disparaba-mientras-conducia/