Will this be Danilo’s Supreme Court of Justice?
Miriam Germán Brito removed from Supreme Court of Justice
Judge Maria Garabito was critical of Attorney General
Constitutional Court invalidates gag clause in Political Parties Law
Electoral director for PRD explains decision to not hold primaries on 6 October 2019
JCE publishes ruling for the 6 October simultaneous primaries
Foley Hoag LLP hired to help establish maritime borders
Manufacturers call for more government support to innovation in industry
Economists at INTEC warn of deficit issues for government
Intec sees danger for pension fundholders
Dominican non-financial public debt is now 39% of GDP
Dominican company produces faster-degrading plastic bags
Amber experts of the world meet in Santo Domingo
Air Cocaine pilots sentenced to six years in France, here they had received 20 years
10-passenger plane clandestinely lands off Coral Highway
Frenchman hauled in by Interpol on money laundering charges
Alleged killer of three youngsters surrenders to authorities
Spouse of Foreign Relations vice minister arrested for domestic violence charge
Rains will bring outbreaks of dengue and malaria, says medical guild
The elephant in the room is just around the corner: hurricanes
The oldest living Dominican: 118-year old Juana Fernandez
Juan Luis Guerra releases new track: Kitipun
Will this be Danilo’s Supreme Court of Justice?
The National Council of the Magistracy (CNM) announced their selection of nine new judges for the Supreme Court of Justice and confirmation of three Supreme Court judges on Thursday, 4 April 2019 at the 16-member Supreme Court of Justice. The eight-member jury of the CNM, chaired by President Danilo Medina, chose lawyer Luis Henry Molina Peña, the son of a former labor leader, as the new Chief Justice. He will also head the Judicial Branch Council (CPJ).
Molina has always received high marks for his management skills in the government positions he has held. Until last week Molina was the head of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL). He was also active as a member of the board of the INTEC university.
Previously he had directed the Center for Export & Investments (CEI-RD) and was the first director of the Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura (National School of the Judiciary), where he served for 12 years directing the training of prosecutors and judges. He had also served as vice minister of the Presidency, working under Minister Gustavo Montalvo.
Molina is a member of the Central Committee of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and is known for an active role in the campaigning for the presidencies of Medina. Molina promptly resigned from the PLD, his job at Indotel and from the board at INTEC university.
The president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, Miriam German Brito, was ordered to leave the bench as part of the sweep of the Supreme Court of Justice. Her assessment was the most controversial after the Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez used his turn to blast the judge with espionage and anonymous accusations that proved to be false, in violation of the ruling for the assessments.
On Friday, 5 April 2019, the new judges were sworn in by President Danilo Medina at the Presidency Palace. The eight new judges in addition to Luis Henry Molina Peña, are: Vanessa E. Acosta Peralta, Samuel Arias Arzeno, Anselmo A. Bello Ferreras, Napoleón R. Estévez Lavandier, María G. Garabito, Justiniano Montero Montero, Nancy I. Salcedo Fernández and Rafael Vásquez Goico.
Supreme Court of Justice judge Manuel Herrera Carbuccia was one of three confirmed to his post. He was appointed the first replacement of the president of the SCJ, and Pilar Jiménez, is the second replacement. The two other confirmed judges are Francisco Antonio Jérez Mena and Fran Euclides Soto Sánchez.
The judges who had not completed their seven-year terms to sit for assessment nor were of retirement age, nor had announced they were retired, and who will continue, are: judges Francisco Ortega Polanco, Moises Alfredo Ferrer, Blas Rafael Fernández Gómez, Pilar Jiménez and Manuel Alexis Read Ortiz. The judges that were irregularly removed, in addition to Miriam Germán, were Esther Agelán Casasnovas, Juan Hiroito Reyes, José Alberto Cruceta Almánzar, Robert Placencia Alvarez, Alejandro Moscoso Segarra and Sara Henríquez Marín.
The removal of the Supreme Court of Justice judges following the assessment by the CNM stands in violation with the 2010 Dominican Constitution that had established in Art. 151 that judges shall not be removed from office, or dismissed, suspended, transferred or retired, except on legally established grounds and with the due process provided by law.
Lawyer and political analyst Francisco (Pancho) Alvarez said that there is no criticism on the choice of the new judges. Rather, he said, what is wrong is the use of collective evaluation of the Supreme Court of Justice as justification for the removal of the judges. The law only establishes that individual assessments are to be carried out at the seven-year mark and legal grounds are needed for their dismissal. Art. 181 of the 2010 Constitution on performance evaluation says that a judge can only be removed from office if the decision is based on the grounds for removal specified in the law governing the matter.
“The Constitution does not contemplate a collective assessment,” said Alvarez. He said the decision is a blow to the strength of the Dominican judicial institution and a message to the new judges that their jobs are subject to their political bosses. Reinaldo Pared Pérez, CNM member and secretary general of the ruling PLD political party, had defended the extensive firing of Supreme Court judges upon making the announcement on Thursday, 4 April, alleging that the comprehensive purge of the Supreme Court of Justice was needed to meet demands for improvements. The National Council of Business had hinted on the outcome when earlier calling for “renewal” of the Supreme Court of Justice. There is speculation the business group had struck a deal for government support to changes requested on labor issues.
The voting members of the National Council of the Magistracy are: President Danilo Medina; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Mariano Germán; president of the Senate and secretary general of the ruling PLD party, Reynaldo Pared Perez; president of the Chamber of Deputies Radhamés Camacho (PLD-Pedernales) Supreme Court of Justice judge Fran Soto; Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez; senator José Ignacio Paliza (PRM-Puerto Plata), and deputy Josefa Castillo (PRM-Province of Santo Domingo).
TV journalist Huchi Lora on El Dia remarked on the dominance of the Presidency of the Judicial Branch. He described the conclusion of the judicial selection process as the country has gone from being under “the Supreme Court of Leonel to enter the Supreme Court of Danilo.” He was referring to the role of both PLD leaders in the choice of the Supreme Court judges who would issue deciding votes in corruption cases that affected former President Leonel Fernandez, and his key officers, former Public Works Minister Victor Diaz Rua and former director of the OISOE construction office of the presidency, Felix Bautista.
Opposition party member of the CNM, Puerto Plata senator José Ignacio Paliza, said people should give the judges time to tell if they make a difference. “We wish and hope that this recently elected Supreme Court of Justice may fill expectations of the people for an independent justice,” he stated.
The revamping of the Supreme Court of Justice follows the recent sweep of prosecutors under the Attorney General Office that was highly criticized for irregularities in the fast-track procedure that was used.
The National Council of the Magistracy has next on its agenda choosing judges for the Constitutional Court to replace those who have reached the nine-year mark. The Presidency also controls the Legislative Branch, where PLD senators and deputies are a controlling majority.
http://www.poderjudicial.gob.do/portada/detalles_noticias.aspx?IdNoticia=1745
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0WCkklERtc -- Huchi Lora of El Dia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_99SXaBqTw -- interview with Francisco (Pancho) Alvarez
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...on-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia-JE12434805
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...el-para-presidir-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia
http://hoy.com.do/estos-son-los-nuevos-jueces-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia/
http://hoy.com.do/quien-es-luis-henry-molina-el-nuevo-presidente-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia/
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...on-reto-de-transformar-la-justicia-BO12496531
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=1inHkRAxrkY
Miriam Germán Brito removed from Supreme Court of Justice
All three members of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice were removed, including the president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, Miriam German Brito. Germán Brito had made headline news for several weeks when National Council of the Magistracy member, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez, blasted her with fake accusations and in violation of the CNM ruling during the judge’s assessment turn. Germán Brito only received the favorable vote of PRM deputy Josefa Castillo, while juror Jose Ignacio Paliza of the opposition party PRM abstained.
TV host Huchi Lora said on El Dia talk show that the removal of Miriam Germán Brito ensures there will not be a dissident opinion to the handling of the Odebrecht corruption case under the Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez. The judge, with a year in advance, had alerted to the weak case being prepared by the state prosecutors under Rodríguez. So far, the defense counsel of seven accused by the Attorney General has presented evidence that the state prosecutors have not presented evidence to back up the accusations. TV host Huchi Lora has forecast the Odebrecht case will collapse for lack of preparation, calling this a new method to legally achieve impunity and evasion of justice by politicians. The other methods have been the archiving of the case and the declaration of not enough evidence for the case to proceed. These methods had benefited former President Leonel Fernandez, former Minister of Public Works Victor Diaz Rua, and the former director of the state public works construction office (OISOE), senator Felix Bautista, in 2015.
Judge Fran Soto, who acted as a member of the CNM, was confirmed at the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice. He voted in favor of dismissing the corruption case against Felix Bautista in 2015. At the time, Judge Miriam German Brito criticized prosecutor Francisco Domínguez Brito for weaknesses in his preparation of this case.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...la-sala-penal-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-ha-lugar-a-favor-de-felix-bautista-KK1628941
http://hoy.com.do/solo-tres-jueces-scj-ratificados-miriam-german-queda-fuera/
http://hoy.com.do/cnm-excluye-a-miriam-german-de-la-suprema-y-nombra-a-luis-henry-molina-presidente/
Judge Maria Garabito was critical of Attorney General
In one newspaper commentary on the selection, Diario Libre noted that judge Maria G. Garabito was the person who, in January 2018, had accused the Attorney General of the Republic Jean Alain Rodríguez of trying to blackmail the judges in San Cristobal. The accusation was included in a letter that she had sent to the director of the Judicial Career Justiniano Montero Montero, defending an interim judge on the bench of the Tribunal for the Execution of the Sentence in San Cristobal, Katerina Arletti Rubio Matos. Rubio Matos was under investigation by the Judicial Council for having granted four-day Christmas passes for 62 inmates, which included several on drug charges, but without showing any particulars for those responsible for the return of the prisoners. Curiously, Justiniano Montero Montero was also elevated to the Supreme Court bench.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...es-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia-DO12495125
Constitutional Court invalidates gag clause in Political Parties Law
On Friday, 5 April 2019, the Constitutional Court struck down disposition No. 6 of Art. 44 in the recently passed Political Parties Law 33-18, which had criminalized negative comments regarding politicians in social media. The sentence is TC-01-2018-0043.
Lawyers Namphi Rodríguez and Héctor Herrera Cabral had disputed the disposition in the Constitutional Court. The disposition had read: "The dissemination of negative messages through social networks that tarnish the image of candidates will be sanctioned according to articles 21 and 22 of Law No.53-07, on Crimes and High Technology Crimes."
Rodríguez commented after the higher court decision was announced that the Political Parties Law disposition sought to inhibit citizens from reporting on administrative corruption. He said he is waiting to read the full sentence, but suggested it is a decision “that strengthens the constitutional state against a draconian law of parties that ignores free expression in social media as they ignore other rights such as freedom of association and the rights of members of the political parties.”
The spokesman for the PLD, Gustavo Sánchez, who had defended the restriction to freedom of speech by the law, now says that the measure sought to limit criticism by people to those matters that could be proven in a court. But he says the Constitutional Court ruling needs to be respected.
Rodríguez said there are several other gag laws, including the recently passed Electoral Regime Law 15-19, which penalizes with up to 10 years in jail for defamation, a crime that would otherwise only receive six months in Freedom of Speech Law 6132 that dates back to 1962. He said he is waiting to read the full Constitutional Court opinion. He said that Constitutional Court ruling TC0075-16 had already established that there would be no jail sentence when politicians or government officers are involved.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...cional-sobre-criticas-a-candidatos-BG12505073
https://elnacional.com.do/considera-decision-del-tc-afianza-derecho-constitucional/
Electoral director for PRD explains decision to not hold primaries on 6 October 2019
Women Minister Janet Camilo, speaking as vice president and electoral director for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, a strong ally to the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), explained that after much deliberations the party echelons understood they could not afford the deduction of RD$120 million the Central Electoral Board (JCE) would make to their funds to finance just one candidacy, the Presidency. She explained that the funds were needed to prepare another 4,000 candidacies nationwide.
Camilo said the party has yet to announce how the presidential candidate will be chosen. In addition to the primaries, the Dominican Political Parties Law 33-18 also allows for polls (by pollsters approved by the Central Electoral Board) and party conventions with the participation of party militants, delegates and leaders.
She said in an interview with Huchi Lora and Carolina Santana for El Dia on Telesistema Channel 11 that there was time because the pre-campaign starts on 7 July 2019, and parties that do not choose the primary method have until the last Sunday in October, or 27 October 2019, to select their candidates.
In the interview, she said the party has not decided on whether it will again ally with the ruling PLD party. “The political situation is not yet defined,” she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fuaVzEN00A
JCE publishes ruling for the 6 October simultaneous primaries
On Friday, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) confirmed that the parties holding primaries to be coordinated by the JCE would see deductions of 40% in their government-assigned funds. The JCE announced the ruling for the primaries is now available. The funds would be used for the organization of the primaries. So far only the ruling PLD and the opposition leader PRM have said they will carry out the primaries.
Art. 61 of the Political Parties Law 33-18 establishes that 80% of the RD$1.5 billion the parties would be assigned to the political parties receiving more than 5% of the vote in the 2016 general elections, namely the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana (PLD), Partido Revolucionario Moderno (PRM), Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) and Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC), each receiving RD$301.4. The law establishes these funds are subject to audit by the Chamber of Accounts.
The same law establishes that 12% of the resources be distributed in equal parts to political parties receiving 1-4.9% of the vote, namely the Partido Alianza País (ALPAIS), Partido Humanista Dominicano (PHD), Partido Movimiento Democrático Alternativo (MODA) and Bloque Institucional Social Demócrata (BIS), with each receiving RD$45,208,007. Parties obtaining less than 1% will receive the remaining 8% of the funds, or RD$6,683,382 each.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/04...-de-recursos-al-pld-y-prm-para-las-primarias/
http://hoy.com.do/jce-distribuye-1500-millones-a-partidos-1200-a-mayoritarios/
Foley Hoag LLP hired to help establish maritime borders
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas announced the signing of an agreement with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP for counsel in maritime boundary cases to the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission (Comisión Nacional de Delimitación de Fronteras Marítimas). The firm will assist the Dominican government in sea border limits negotiations with neighboring countries. The announcement comes after repeated arrests of Dominican fishermen by Jamaican and Bahamian authorities for supposedly illegally fishing in their territorial waters.
Vargas explained that the purpose of contracting the law firm is "to define our maritime borders in the most favorable terms allowed under the Law of the Sea" referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said the effort is inspired by the defense of national interests and always respecting the national and international legal framework.
Other members of the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission participating in the event were Defense Minister Rubén Darío Paulino Sem, Minister of Defense, Vice Admiral Emilio Recio Segura, General Commander of the Dominican Armada; Flavio Darío Espinal, legal advisor to the Executive Branch; and Pascual Prota Henríquez, president of the National Maritime Affairs Authority (Anamar) and executive secretary of the Commission.
By Decree 237-18, in June of 2018, President Danilo Medina created the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission to determine the maritime borders of the Dominican Republic and present recommendations to the Presidency. The decree established that the Dominican Republic has already signed maritime delimitation agreements with Colombia and Venezuela. Still pending are the borders with Haiti, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Turks & Caicos Islands, as a British overseas territory), the USA (Puerto Rico) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean).
http://hoy.com.do/canciller-suscribe-acuerdo-con-firma-eeuu-para-definir-fronteras-maritimas-de-rd/
https://foleyhoag.com/practices/int...bitration/maritime-and-land-boundary-disputes
Manufacturers call for more government support to innovation in industry
The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) says the country lacks public policies that encourage innovation and suggested that the key for promoting a change in production of the nation’s industries is to get manufacturers to incorporate new technologies. Young Celso Juan Marranzini, the AIRD president, said that this would require new stances, including a new legal framework that would push for innovation, research and development.
The manufacturers met at JW Marriott at Blue Mall on occasion of National Manufacturing Day. Marranzini was the keynote speaker. He complained the authorities do not understand the importance of innovation nor provide incentives for achieving this. On the contrary, he said that oftentimes the government places stumbling blocks in the way of those who seek to incorporate innovations.
Marranzini called for local industry to adopt and adapt technologies that are readily available in order to improve production and competitiveness, and to continue the strengthening of the supply chain in sectors such as farming, tourism and industrial free zones in order to produce more added value. He highlighted that the government gives priority to local purchases of goods and services as part of a public policy to promote local industry.
Attending the event were ministers of Environment, Industry and Commerce, Labor and Administrative Ministry of the Presidency.
https://elcaribe.com.do/2019/04/05/...ritica-falta-de-politicas-para-la-innovacion/
Economists at INTEC warn of deficit issues for government
The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) are warning that “the Dominican economy cannot resist a permanent deficit, based on a yearly increase of the public debt.” Rafael Espinal, the coordinator of the Economic Department, presented a report to an audience of professionals, students and journalists that noted that “interest on the debt represents 23% of spending while servicing the debt reduces the government’s fiscal flexibility by some 40%.”
According to Espinal, the deficit will require the Tax Agency (DGII) to continue to optimize tax collections, by reducing fraud and tax evasion.
According to the DGII, the Dominican Republic shows the highest rate of tax evasion in the entire Central American and Caribbean region. The DGII estimates income tax evasion to be at 60%. He estimates evasion of the VAT tax, called ITBIS in the DR, to be somewhere between 31% and 42% for the 2007-2017 period.
According to IMF estimates the Dominican economy will grow by 5.5% in 2019 and as a result the “pressures of a limited fiscal space will continue to be a critical variable that the authorities should restrain.”
Espinal and his colleagues called for a national dialogue that would lead the way to a tax agreement accompanied by a law on fiscal responsibility that would define government spending priorities and reduce wasteful spending.
https://elnacional.com.do/ven-economia-no-resiste-deficit-sustentado-en-aumento-deuda/
Intec sees danger for pension fundholders
The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) do not see a rosy future for the pension fund administrators (AFPs) and their customers. In their opinion, these fund administrators that at present enjoy high profits risk bankruptcy because the bulk of the workers’ savings are invested in government bonds that are threatened by the growing national debt.
“Trying to read the future is like reading a crystal ball, but this is a possibility that we have to consider,” said Carlos Ramos of INTEC. He said if oil prices were to shoot up, this could force the government to subsidize the electric sector, and this could cripple the pension funds. Ramos, together with well-known economist Pavel Isa Contreras, argued for a Fiscal Pact that would focus on the relocation of the current tax structure in order to guarantee continued economic growth.
A recent Juan Bosch Foundation study shows at present the situation is already bleak for pension plan holders.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...el-petroleo-las-afp-pueden-quebrar-PO12493639
http://www.juanbosch.org/index.php?route=publicacion/publicacion&publicacion_id=16
Dominican non-financial public debt is now 39% of GDP
The Dominican non-financial public debt continues to rise, according to the General Directorate of Public Debt, the government office that keeps track of the public debt. The public debt, without including the financial debt of the Central Bank. is now at US$32.8 billion, or 39.1% of the Gross Domestic Product. Of this, 65.4% is foreign debt, or US$21.46 billion, as reported in Diario Libre.
The consolidated public debt as of 31 December 2018 was US$40.97 billion. This is US$3.76 billion more than at the close of 2017.
https://www.creditopublico.gov.do/novedades/2019/20190322_PIB.htm
https://www.haciendonoticias.com/in...nanciero-llego-a-us32842-millones-en-febrero/
http://z101digital.com/rijo-revela-gobierno-coloca-bonos-por-rd42282-mm-en-2019/
Dominican company produces faster-degrading plastic bags
Every year some 13,000,000 tons of plastics are dumped into the world’s oceans, according to a report by the UN Environment (UNEP). A large part of this amount is composed of plastic bags, just like the ones we see in supermarkets, the corner store, or any commercial entity.
Now a Dominican company that has been making plastic bags for some 6 years is implementing a process to make the bags biodegradable. Multigestiones Ayaz announced they are adding an ingredient that reduces the time it takes for plastic to break down in the environment.
According to the general manager of the factory that employs 192 persons, “a normal piece of plastic takes a very, very long time to break down, but with the additive we use, under the proper conditions, the bags break down in about two years”. The bags incorporate an oxy-bio-degradable agent (Reverte) that was developed by a British company, Wells Plastics Ltd. It is said to make less damaging packing materials as such as these that break down sooner.
Manuel Lorenzo Viyella, the manager, said that two major supermarket chains are using these bags at a rate of about 4,000,000 per month. Other clients include bakeries and coffee marketers.
Environmentalists criticize that while the bags degrade faster, this is not fast enough to be a major component of litter and marine litter. In the process, microplastics are produced, potentially a bigger environmental and health issue.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...usca-de-reducir-danos-del-plastico-AP12482301
Amber experts of the world meet in Santo Domingo
The world authorities on non-marine arthropods and amber are in Santo Domingo for the 8th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber (Fossils x3), from 8-14 April 2019. The venue is the auditorium of the Centro de Telecomunicaciones on Calle Arzobispo Meriño, in the Colonial City.
The scientific conference is scheduled for 8-12 April and field trips to see Dominican amber sites and learn more about Dominican amber are scheduled for 13-14 April.
The event has the sponsorship of the Amber World Museum and the backing of the Ministry of Higher Education (MESCyT), Ministry of the Presidency, Ministry of Energy & Mines, Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, National History Museum, and the National Geological Service and Dominican Geological Society.
Jorge Caridad, of the Amber World Museum, highlights that Dominican amber will be the focus of researchers and specialists, students, collectors and representatives of the amber crafts and jewelry sectors from all around the world. He described the fossil resin as a country brand. He said the experts have come to see from themselves where the most transparent amber in the world comes from.
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/afirma...ernacional-sobre-insectos-artropodos-y-ambar/
http://www.amberworldmuseum.com/conference/
http://www.ambercongress.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISTFtXcPsdg El Dia
Air Cocaine pilots sentenced to six years in France, here they had received 20 years
A court in Aix-en-Provence, France, sentenced two pilots that would have transported to France a shipment of 680kg of cocaine on board a Falcon private jet flight from Punta Cana International Airport to six years in jail. The case dates back to March 2013, when local narcotics officers detected the cocaine in 26 suitcases on board the plane that was to leave for St. Tropez in France with the two pilots and two passengers on board.
The pilots, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, had been sentenced to 20 years of jail by a Dominican court that said the pilots were responsible for what was on board. While on domiciliary arrest, they fled the Dominican Republic. The pilots were rearrested in November 2015 upon their return to France.
In the same case, touted by the international press as the “Air Cocaine” case, others were handed sentences for their involvement. These were Ali Bouchareb, described as the ringleader, who was given 18 years in prison. Frank Colin was given 12 years in jail for being his accomplice. Others sentenced were members of the airplane rental company SNTHS, Fabrice Alcaud and Pierre-Marc Dreyfus, who were sentenced to six years each, and former customs agent François-Xavier Manchet, ordered to serve five years in jail.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47839516
10-passenger plane clandestinely lands off Coral Highway
Ministry of Defense, National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) and Attorney General Office reported on Saturday, 6 April 2019, on the landing of a passenger plane on Friday evening in a cane field in La Altagracia province in the east. The case is under investigation.
The authorities say that what is known is that the airplane had left from Venezuela and irregularly entered Dominican airspace at 10:25pm. The authorities had ordered the takeoff of a SuperTucano surveillance plane, but by 10:28 pm the airplane had disappeared from the radar.
At 5:50 am on Saturday, an Air Force helicopter and land forces located a Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft, with has capacity for 10 passengers, with altered registration YV312 (Venezuela) that had been abandoned on the cane field near the crossing of San Rafael de Yuma on the Coral Highway, near Batey Los Tocones.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...regular-la-noche-del-viernes-en-la-altagracia
Frenchman hauled in by Interpol on money laundering charges
Dominican authorities arrested a French citizen on warrants stemming from charges of fraud, money laundering and identity theft originating in France. Robert Phillipe Moulis, 63, was picked up on the highway between Cabarete and Sosua in Puerto Plata on the north coast by agents of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) acting in coordination with personnel from the Department of International Cooperation of France and officials from the Attorney General Office.
Moulis faces charges of fraud committed by an organized gang, aggravated money laundering, identity theft, and criminal association. He was arrested on a warrant issued by the Dominican Supreme Court issued at the request of the Major Crimes Tribunal in Paris, France.
The extradition will be carried out in accordance with Law 285-04 which notes that persons with criminal backgrounds will not be admitted into the Dominican Republic.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...querido-por-la-justicia-de-su-pais-AO12491054
https://elnacional.com.do/apresan-frances-en-puerto-plata-acusado-de-estafa-y-lavado/
Alleged killer of three youngsters surrenders to authorities
The alleged perpetrator of the triple homicide that shocked the Santiago area last week, because it involved a young teenage girl (16), has turned himself into the authorities.
The three victims were found in a car abandoned on the Autopista Duarte near the Juan Bosch Trauma Hospital in the El Pino section of La Vega. Two victims were found in the back seat and one in the trunk of the Kia K5. All of the victims were from Ponton, Navarrete. The alleged killer, Luis Alfredo Chavez (Chino Trinitario), turned himself into the Santiago prosecutor’s office.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...sonas-halladas-en-carro-en-la-vega-FO12495550
Spouse of Foreign Relations vice minister arrested for domestic violence charge
The spouse of Foreign Relations Vice Minister Marjorie Espinosa was arrested at the Ministry of Foreign Relations on Friday, 5 April 2019. He is Police Lieutenant Carlos Bernabel Ventura Cruz, who was arrested after a complaint placed by his wife to the Attorney General’s Office. Espinosa is in charge of consular and migration affairs at the Ministry. Ventura Cruz is accused of domestic violence. Espinosa was not at the Ministry when her spouse arrived and was arrested by Ministry of Foreign Relations security officers and taken to the National District prosecution office for questioning.
Spokesman for the Police Frank Félix Durán said that after the incident, the police officer was immediately suspended. He said if he is convicted he would be automatically fired from the police force.
https://elnacional.com.do/video-apr...ie-espinosa-por-supuesta-violencia-domestica/
https://eldia.com.do/esposo-de-vice...-en-cancilleria-es-un-teniente-de-la-policia/
http://z101digital.com/policia-susp...ciller-espinosa-tras-episodio-en-cancilleria/
Rains will bring outbreaks of dengue and malaria, says medical guild
The president of the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD), Dr. Wilson Roa, said that after the rains that have fallen recently, the nation faces an outbreak of infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and leptospirosis, because of the onset of more mosquitoes, and flood waters containing rodent feces. Roa forecast an increase in persons of the most exposed population, those that live in rural areas and in heavily populated, low-income barrios, will be going to the public hospitals for treatment. He alerted that many would leave without anything since the hospitals are not equipped with the necessary medicines.
Roa noted that neither the health authorities nor the health administrators (the ARS, the local equivalent to HMOs), seem to be worried about this situation, and do not spend money trying to educate the population on how to avoid these diseases. He said that “public awareness campaigns need to be directed by the state, not by intermediaries or the private sector in order for them to go directly to the people.”
He insisted advances be made in the implementation of the nationwide primary care system, and he criticized the efforts of the ARSs to maintain the current second and third tier health care system since it is the one that pays the most.
https://elnacional.com.do/dengue-y-malaria-causaran-estragos-en-la-poblacion/
The elephant in the room is just around the corner: hurricanes
The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Flora has issued its list of the 21 names to be used for tropical storms and hurricanes this season, which begins on 1 June and ends on 30 November. These names are from a list that began their rotation in 1953 and will begin anew in 2025. Names of major hurricanes, such as Michael and David and Andrew are usually removed from the lists.
This year’s list is Andrea, Barry, Chantal. Dorian. Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.
According to the NHC, the names are updated and listed by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The NHC (www.nhc.noaa.gov) removed the names of two Atlantic Cat. 4 hurricanes, Florence and Michael, from the list, and substituted Francine and Milton, but these will not be used until 2024.
The 2019 season is forecast to be “slightly” below normal according to reports from Accuweather.com. The predictions from the people at the Tropical Meteorology Project at the Colorado State University in Denver published their forecasts late last week and, according to The Weather Channel, the results called for a “close to normal” season with 13 named tropical storms (12 is average) with 5 hurricanes and 2 major (Cat. 3 or larger) hurricanes. This is near the 30-year average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and three major storms. The experts added that “less” does not mean less dangerous, so hurricane advisories should be carefully monitored.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...atlantico-esta-el-tuyo-en-la-lista-AO12490505
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-04-04-2019-hurricane-season-outlook-colorado-state
The oldest living Dominican: 118-year old Juana Fernandez
Could the rural communities of Santiago province be the Dominican Blue Zone, or area where conditions lead the population to live long lives? Recently the community of Hato del Yaque in Santiago met to honor 118-year old Juana Francisca Fernández, considered the oldest living Dominican. They wanted to celebrate after losing another record-setting Dominican, Jaime Vicente, a farmer who recently died at age 117. The municipality said the gathering sought to recognize the importance of caring for the wellbeing of the aging in the community and to celebrate life.
Doña Juana Francisca has lived for decades in Villa Bay. She was born on 4 April 1901 in Meseta of the Municipio de Janico, Santiago province. She was 29 when would be Dictator Trujillo was first elected in 1930.
She said she has breakfast every morning with a cup of fresh milk from milked cows, Dominican cheese (queso de hoja), and farm-range chickens. One of her grandsons explained: “She is very picky about what she eats. She eats everything natural.”
She has 11 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. She says she is constantly complaining because she is no longer allowed to participate in farm activities as she did all her life.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/04...cana-tiene-118-anos-y-vive-en-hato-del-yaque/
Juan Luis Guerra releases new track: Kitipun
Legendary contemporary musician Juan Luis Guerra has shared the music video of the first single of his new record production on Friday, 5 April 2019. It is called “Kitipun.” The track is now available on all digital platform as #Kitipun. The album is scheduled to be released in May and will be his 14th. The new album will have songs composed by Guerra but also collaborations with other singers. Guerra said the sounds are a “fusion of romanticism and danceable rhythms.”
http://juanluisguerra.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpkaifThmOs
Miriam Germán Brito removed from Supreme Court of Justice
Judge Maria Garabito was critical of Attorney General
Constitutional Court invalidates gag clause in Political Parties Law
Electoral director for PRD explains decision to not hold primaries on 6 October 2019
JCE publishes ruling for the 6 October simultaneous primaries
Foley Hoag LLP hired to help establish maritime borders
Manufacturers call for more government support to innovation in industry
Economists at INTEC warn of deficit issues for government
Intec sees danger for pension fundholders
Dominican non-financial public debt is now 39% of GDP
Dominican company produces faster-degrading plastic bags
Amber experts of the world meet in Santo Domingo
Air Cocaine pilots sentenced to six years in France, here they had received 20 years
10-passenger plane clandestinely lands off Coral Highway
Frenchman hauled in by Interpol on money laundering charges
Alleged killer of three youngsters surrenders to authorities
Spouse of Foreign Relations vice minister arrested for domestic violence charge
Rains will bring outbreaks of dengue and malaria, says medical guild
The elephant in the room is just around the corner: hurricanes
The oldest living Dominican: 118-year old Juana Fernandez
Juan Luis Guerra releases new track: Kitipun
Will this be Danilo’s Supreme Court of Justice?
The National Council of the Magistracy (CNM) announced their selection of nine new judges for the Supreme Court of Justice and confirmation of three Supreme Court judges on Thursday, 4 April 2019 at the 16-member Supreme Court of Justice. The eight-member jury of the CNM, chaired by President Danilo Medina, chose lawyer Luis Henry Molina Peña, the son of a former labor leader, as the new Chief Justice. He will also head the Judicial Branch Council (CPJ).
Molina has always received high marks for his management skills in the government positions he has held. Until last week Molina was the head of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL). He was also active as a member of the board of the INTEC university.
Previously he had directed the Center for Export & Investments (CEI-RD) and was the first director of the Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura (National School of the Judiciary), where he served for 12 years directing the training of prosecutors and judges. He had also served as vice minister of the Presidency, working under Minister Gustavo Montalvo.
Molina is a member of the Central Committee of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and is known for an active role in the campaigning for the presidencies of Medina. Molina promptly resigned from the PLD, his job at Indotel and from the board at INTEC university.
The president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, Miriam German Brito, was ordered to leave the bench as part of the sweep of the Supreme Court of Justice. Her assessment was the most controversial after the Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez used his turn to blast the judge with espionage and anonymous accusations that proved to be false, in violation of the ruling for the assessments.
On Friday, 5 April 2019, the new judges were sworn in by President Danilo Medina at the Presidency Palace. The eight new judges in addition to Luis Henry Molina Peña, are: Vanessa E. Acosta Peralta, Samuel Arias Arzeno, Anselmo A. Bello Ferreras, Napoleón R. Estévez Lavandier, María G. Garabito, Justiniano Montero Montero, Nancy I. Salcedo Fernández and Rafael Vásquez Goico.
Supreme Court of Justice judge Manuel Herrera Carbuccia was one of three confirmed to his post. He was appointed the first replacement of the president of the SCJ, and Pilar Jiménez, is the second replacement. The two other confirmed judges are Francisco Antonio Jérez Mena and Fran Euclides Soto Sánchez.
The judges who had not completed their seven-year terms to sit for assessment nor were of retirement age, nor had announced they were retired, and who will continue, are: judges Francisco Ortega Polanco, Moises Alfredo Ferrer, Blas Rafael Fernández Gómez, Pilar Jiménez and Manuel Alexis Read Ortiz. The judges that were irregularly removed, in addition to Miriam Germán, were Esther Agelán Casasnovas, Juan Hiroito Reyes, José Alberto Cruceta Almánzar, Robert Placencia Alvarez, Alejandro Moscoso Segarra and Sara Henríquez Marín.
The removal of the Supreme Court of Justice judges following the assessment by the CNM stands in violation with the 2010 Dominican Constitution that had established in Art. 151 that judges shall not be removed from office, or dismissed, suspended, transferred or retired, except on legally established grounds and with the due process provided by law.
Lawyer and political analyst Francisco (Pancho) Alvarez said that there is no criticism on the choice of the new judges. Rather, he said, what is wrong is the use of collective evaluation of the Supreme Court of Justice as justification for the removal of the judges. The law only establishes that individual assessments are to be carried out at the seven-year mark and legal grounds are needed for their dismissal. Art. 181 of the 2010 Constitution on performance evaluation says that a judge can only be removed from office if the decision is based on the grounds for removal specified in the law governing the matter.
“The Constitution does not contemplate a collective assessment,” said Alvarez. He said the decision is a blow to the strength of the Dominican judicial institution and a message to the new judges that their jobs are subject to their political bosses. Reinaldo Pared Pérez, CNM member and secretary general of the ruling PLD political party, had defended the extensive firing of Supreme Court judges upon making the announcement on Thursday, 4 April, alleging that the comprehensive purge of the Supreme Court of Justice was needed to meet demands for improvements. The National Council of Business had hinted on the outcome when earlier calling for “renewal” of the Supreme Court of Justice. There is speculation the business group had struck a deal for government support to changes requested on labor issues.
The voting members of the National Council of the Magistracy are: President Danilo Medina; the president of the Supreme Court of Justice, Mariano Germán; president of the Senate and secretary general of the ruling PLD party, Reynaldo Pared Perez; president of the Chamber of Deputies Radhamés Camacho (PLD-Pedernales) Supreme Court of Justice judge Fran Soto; Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez; senator José Ignacio Paliza (PRM-Puerto Plata), and deputy Josefa Castillo (PRM-Province of Santo Domingo).
TV journalist Huchi Lora on El Dia remarked on the dominance of the Presidency of the Judicial Branch. He described the conclusion of the judicial selection process as the country has gone from being under “the Supreme Court of Leonel to enter the Supreme Court of Danilo.” He was referring to the role of both PLD leaders in the choice of the Supreme Court judges who would issue deciding votes in corruption cases that affected former President Leonel Fernandez, and his key officers, former Public Works Minister Victor Diaz Rua and former director of the OISOE construction office of the presidency, Felix Bautista.
Opposition party member of the CNM, Puerto Plata senator José Ignacio Paliza, said people should give the judges time to tell if they make a difference. “We wish and hope that this recently elected Supreme Court of Justice may fill expectations of the people for an independent justice,” he stated.
The revamping of the Supreme Court of Justice follows the recent sweep of prosecutors under the Attorney General Office that was highly criticized for irregularities in the fast-track procedure that was used.
The National Council of the Magistracy has next on its agenda choosing judges for the Constitutional Court to replace those who have reached the nine-year mark. The Presidency also controls the Legislative Branch, where PLD senators and deputies are a controlling majority.
http://www.poderjudicial.gob.do/portada/detalles_noticias.aspx?IdNoticia=1745
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0WCkklERtc -- Huchi Lora of El Dia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_99SXaBqTw -- interview with Francisco (Pancho) Alvarez
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...on-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia-JE12434805
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...el-para-presidir-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia
http://hoy.com.do/estos-son-los-nuevos-jueces-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia/
http://hoy.com.do/quien-es-luis-henry-molina-el-nuevo-presidente-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia/
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...on-reto-de-transformar-la-justicia-BO12496531
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=1inHkRAxrkY
Miriam Germán Brito removed from Supreme Court of Justice
All three members of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice were removed, including the president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, Miriam German Brito. Germán Brito had made headline news for several weeks when National Council of the Magistracy member, Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez, blasted her with fake accusations and in violation of the CNM ruling during the judge’s assessment turn. Germán Brito only received the favorable vote of PRM deputy Josefa Castillo, while juror Jose Ignacio Paliza of the opposition party PRM abstained.
TV host Huchi Lora said on El Dia talk show that the removal of Miriam Germán Brito ensures there will not be a dissident opinion to the handling of the Odebrecht corruption case under the Attorney General Jean Alain Rodriguez. The judge, with a year in advance, had alerted to the weak case being prepared by the state prosecutors under Rodríguez. So far, the defense counsel of seven accused by the Attorney General has presented evidence that the state prosecutors have not presented evidence to back up the accusations. TV host Huchi Lora has forecast the Odebrecht case will collapse for lack of preparation, calling this a new method to legally achieve impunity and evasion of justice by politicians. The other methods have been the archiving of the case and the declaration of not enough evidence for the case to proceed. These methods had benefited former President Leonel Fernandez, former Minister of Public Works Victor Diaz Rua, and the former director of the state public works construction office (OISOE), senator Felix Bautista, in 2015.
Judge Fran Soto, who acted as a member of the CNM, was confirmed at the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice. He voted in favor of dismissing the corruption case against Felix Bautista in 2015. At the time, Judge Miriam German Brito criticized prosecutor Francisco Domínguez Brito for weaknesses in his preparation of this case.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...la-sala-penal-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...-ha-lugar-a-favor-de-felix-bautista-KK1628941
http://hoy.com.do/solo-tres-jueces-scj-ratificados-miriam-german-queda-fuera/
http://hoy.com.do/cnm-excluye-a-miriam-german-de-la-suprema-y-nombra-a-luis-henry-molina-presidente/
Judge Maria Garabito was critical of Attorney General
In one newspaper commentary on the selection, Diario Libre noted that judge Maria G. Garabito was the person who, in January 2018, had accused the Attorney General of the Republic Jean Alain Rodríguez of trying to blackmail the judges in San Cristobal. The accusation was included in a letter that she had sent to the director of the Judicial Career Justiniano Montero Montero, defending an interim judge on the bench of the Tribunal for the Execution of the Sentence in San Cristobal, Katerina Arletti Rubio Matos. Rubio Matos was under investigation by the Judicial Council for having granted four-day Christmas passes for 62 inmates, which included several on drug charges, but without showing any particulars for those responsible for the return of the prisoners. Curiously, Justiniano Montero Montero was also elevated to the Supreme Court bench.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...es-de-la-suprema-corte-de-justicia-DO12495125
Constitutional Court invalidates gag clause in Political Parties Law
On Friday, 5 April 2019, the Constitutional Court struck down disposition No. 6 of Art. 44 in the recently passed Political Parties Law 33-18, which had criminalized negative comments regarding politicians in social media. The sentence is TC-01-2018-0043.
Lawyers Namphi Rodríguez and Héctor Herrera Cabral had disputed the disposition in the Constitutional Court. The disposition had read: "The dissemination of negative messages through social networks that tarnish the image of candidates will be sanctioned according to articles 21 and 22 of Law No.53-07, on Crimes and High Technology Crimes."
Rodríguez commented after the higher court decision was announced that the Political Parties Law disposition sought to inhibit citizens from reporting on administrative corruption. He said he is waiting to read the full sentence, but suggested it is a decision “that strengthens the constitutional state against a draconian law of parties that ignores free expression in social media as they ignore other rights such as freedom of association and the rights of members of the political parties.”
The spokesman for the PLD, Gustavo Sánchez, who had defended the restriction to freedom of speech by the law, now says that the measure sought to limit criticism by people to those matters that could be proven in a court. But he says the Constitutional Court ruling needs to be respected.
Rodríguez said there are several other gag laws, including the recently passed Electoral Regime Law 15-19, which penalizes with up to 10 years in jail for defamation, a crime that would otherwise only receive six months in Freedom of Speech Law 6132 that dates back to 1962. He said he is waiting to read the full Constitutional Court opinion. He said that Constitutional Court ruling TC0075-16 had already established that there would be no jail sentence when politicians or government officers are involved.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...cional-sobre-criticas-a-candidatos-BG12505073
https://elnacional.com.do/considera-decision-del-tc-afianza-derecho-constitucional/
Electoral director for PRD explains decision to not hold primaries on 6 October 2019
Women Minister Janet Camilo, speaking as vice president and electoral director for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, a strong ally to the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), explained that after much deliberations the party echelons understood they could not afford the deduction of RD$120 million the Central Electoral Board (JCE) would make to their funds to finance just one candidacy, the Presidency. She explained that the funds were needed to prepare another 4,000 candidacies nationwide.
Camilo said the party has yet to announce how the presidential candidate will be chosen. In addition to the primaries, the Dominican Political Parties Law 33-18 also allows for polls (by pollsters approved by the Central Electoral Board) and party conventions with the participation of party militants, delegates and leaders.
She said in an interview with Huchi Lora and Carolina Santana for El Dia on Telesistema Channel 11 that there was time because the pre-campaign starts on 7 July 2019, and parties that do not choose the primary method have until the last Sunday in October, or 27 October 2019, to select their candidates.
In the interview, she said the party has not decided on whether it will again ally with the ruling PLD party. “The political situation is not yet defined,” she said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fuaVzEN00A
JCE publishes ruling for the 6 October simultaneous primaries
On Friday, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) confirmed that the parties holding primaries to be coordinated by the JCE would see deductions of 40% in their government-assigned funds. The JCE announced the ruling for the primaries is now available. The funds would be used for the organization of the primaries. So far only the ruling PLD and the opposition leader PRM have said they will carry out the primaries.
Art. 61 of the Political Parties Law 33-18 establishes that 80% of the RD$1.5 billion the parties would be assigned to the political parties receiving more than 5% of the vote in the 2016 general elections, namely the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana (PLD), Partido Revolucionario Moderno (PRM), Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) and Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC), each receiving RD$301.4. The law establishes these funds are subject to audit by the Chamber of Accounts.
The same law establishes that 12% of the resources be distributed in equal parts to political parties receiving 1-4.9% of the vote, namely the Partido Alianza País (ALPAIS), Partido Humanista Dominicano (PHD), Partido Movimiento Democrático Alternativo (MODA) and Bloque Institucional Social Demócrata (BIS), with each receiving RD$45,208,007. Parties obtaining less than 1% will receive the remaining 8% of the funds, or RD$6,683,382 each.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/04...-de-recursos-al-pld-y-prm-para-las-primarias/
http://hoy.com.do/jce-distribuye-1500-millones-a-partidos-1200-a-mayoritarios/
Foley Hoag LLP hired to help establish maritime borders
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas announced the signing of an agreement with the law firm Foley Hoag LLP for counsel in maritime boundary cases to the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission (Comisión Nacional de Delimitación de Fronteras Marítimas). The firm will assist the Dominican government in sea border limits negotiations with neighboring countries. The announcement comes after repeated arrests of Dominican fishermen by Jamaican and Bahamian authorities for supposedly illegally fishing in their territorial waters.
Vargas explained that the purpose of contracting the law firm is "to define our maritime borders in the most favorable terms allowed under the Law of the Sea" referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He said the effort is inspired by the defense of national interests and always respecting the national and international legal framework.
Other members of the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission participating in the event were Defense Minister Rubén Darío Paulino Sem, Minister of Defense, Vice Admiral Emilio Recio Segura, General Commander of the Dominican Armada; Flavio Darío Espinal, legal advisor to the Executive Branch; and Pascual Prota Henríquez, president of the National Maritime Affairs Authority (Anamar) and executive secretary of the Commission.
By Decree 237-18, in June of 2018, President Danilo Medina created the National Maritime Boundary Delimitation Commission to determine the maritime borders of the Dominican Republic and present recommendations to the Presidency. The decree established that the Dominican Republic has already signed maritime delimitation agreements with Colombia and Venezuela. Still pending are the borders with Haiti, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Turks & Caicos Islands, as a British overseas territory), the USA (Puerto Rico) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba and the Dutch Caribbean).
http://hoy.com.do/canciller-suscribe-acuerdo-con-firma-eeuu-para-definir-fronteras-maritimas-de-rd/
https://foleyhoag.com/practices/int...bitration/maritime-and-land-boundary-disputes
Manufacturers call for more government support to innovation in industry
The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) says the country lacks public policies that encourage innovation and suggested that the key for promoting a change in production of the nation’s industries is to get manufacturers to incorporate new technologies. Young Celso Juan Marranzini, the AIRD president, said that this would require new stances, including a new legal framework that would push for innovation, research and development.
The manufacturers met at JW Marriott at Blue Mall on occasion of National Manufacturing Day. Marranzini was the keynote speaker. He complained the authorities do not understand the importance of innovation nor provide incentives for achieving this. On the contrary, he said that oftentimes the government places stumbling blocks in the way of those who seek to incorporate innovations.
Marranzini called for local industry to adopt and adapt technologies that are readily available in order to improve production and competitiveness, and to continue the strengthening of the supply chain in sectors such as farming, tourism and industrial free zones in order to produce more added value. He highlighted that the government gives priority to local purchases of goods and services as part of a public policy to promote local industry.
Attending the event were ministers of Environment, Industry and Commerce, Labor and Administrative Ministry of the Presidency.
https://elcaribe.com.do/2019/04/05/...ritica-falta-de-politicas-para-la-innovacion/
Economists at INTEC warn of deficit issues for government
The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) are warning that “the Dominican economy cannot resist a permanent deficit, based on a yearly increase of the public debt.” Rafael Espinal, the coordinator of the Economic Department, presented a report to an audience of professionals, students and journalists that noted that “interest on the debt represents 23% of spending while servicing the debt reduces the government’s fiscal flexibility by some 40%.”
According to Espinal, the deficit will require the Tax Agency (DGII) to continue to optimize tax collections, by reducing fraud and tax evasion.
According to the DGII, the Dominican Republic shows the highest rate of tax evasion in the entire Central American and Caribbean region. The DGII estimates income tax evasion to be at 60%. He estimates evasion of the VAT tax, called ITBIS in the DR, to be somewhere between 31% and 42% for the 2007-2017 period.
According to IMF estimates the Dominican economy will grow by 5.5% in 2019 and as a result the “pressures of a limited fiscal space will continue to be a critical variable that the authorities should restrain.”
Espinal and his colleagues called for a national dialogue that would lead the way to a tax agreement accompanied by a law on fiscal responsibility that would define government spending priorities and reduce wasteful spending.
https://elnacional.com.do/ven-economia-no-resiste-deficit-sustentado-en-aumento-deuda/
Intec sees danger for pension fundholders
The economists at the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC) do not see a rosy future for the pension fund administrators (AFPs) and their customers. In their opinion, these fund administrators that at present enjoy high profits risk bankruptcy because the bulk of the workers’ savings are invested in government bonds that are threatened by the growing national debt.
“Trying to read the future is like reading a crystal ball, but this is a possibility that we have to consider,” said Carlos Ramos of INTEC. He said if oil prices were to shoot up, this could force the government to subsidize the electric sector, and this could cripple the pension funds. Ramos, together with well-known economist Pavel Isa Contreras, argued for a Fiscal Pact that would focus on the relocation of the current tax structure in order to guarantee continued economic growth.
A recent Juan Bosch Foundation study shows at present the situation is already bleak for pension plan holders.
https://www.diariolibre.com/economi...el-petroleo-las-afp-pueden-quebrar-PO12493639
http://www.juanbosch.org/index.php?route=publicacion/publicacion&publicacion_id=16
Dominican non-financial public debt is now 39% of GDP
The Dominican non-financial public debt continues to rise, according to the General Directorate of Public Debt, the government office that keeps track of the public debt. The public debt, without including the financial debt of the Central Bank. is now at US$32.8 billion, or 39.1% of the Gross Domestic Product. Of this, 65.4% is foreign debt, or US$21.46 billion, as reported in Diario Libre.
The consolidated public debt as of 31 December 2018 was US$40.97 billion. This is US$3.76 billion more than at the close of 2017.
https://www.creditopublico.gov.do/novedades/2019/20190322_PIB.htm
https://www.haciendonoticias.com/in...nanciero-llego-a-us32842-millones-en-febrero/
http://z101digital.com/rijo-revela-gobierno-coloca-bonos-por-rd42282-mm-en-2019/
Dominican company produces faster-degrading plastic bags
Every year some 13,000,000 tons of plastics are dumped into the world’s oceans, according to a report by the UN Environment (UNEP). A large part of this amount is composed of plastic bags, just like the ones we see in supermarkets, the corner store, or any commercial entity.
Now a Dominican company that has been making plastic bags for some 6 years is implementing a process to make the bags biodegradable. Multigestiones Ayaz announced they are adding an ingredient that reduces the time it takes for plastic to break down in the environment.
According to the general manager of the factory that employs 192 persons, “a normal piece of plastic takes a very, very long time to break down, but with the additive we use, under the proper conditions, the bags break down in about two years”. The bags incorporate an oxy-bio-degradable agent (Reverte) that was developed by a British company, Wells Plastics Ltd. It is said to make less damaging packing materials as such as these that break down sooner.
Manuel Lorenzo Viyella, the manager, said that two major supermarket chains are using these bags at a rate of about 4,000,000 per month. Other clients include bakeries and coffee marketers.
Environmentalists criticize that while the bags degrade faster, this is not fast enough to be a major component of litter and marine litter. In the process, microplastics are produced, potentially a bigger environmental and health issue.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...usca-de-reducir-danos-del-plastico-AP12482301
Amber experts of the world meet in Santo Domingo
The world authorities on non-marine arthropods and amber are in Santo Domingo for the 8th International Conference on Fossil Insects, Arthropods and Amber (Fossils x3), from 8-14 April 2019. The venue is the auditorium of the Centro de Telecomunicaciones on Calle Arzobispo Meriño, in the Colonial City.
The scientific conference is scheduled for 8-12 April and field trips to see Dominican amber sites and learn more about Dominican amber are scheduled for 13-14 April.
The event has the sponsorship of the Amber World Museum and the backing of the Ministry of Higher Education (MESCyT), Ministry of the Presidency, Ministry of Energy & Mines, Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, National History Museum, and the National Geological Service and Dominican Geological Society.
Jorge Caridad, of the Amber World Museum, highlights that Dominican amber will be the focus of researchers and specialists, students, collectors and representatives of the amber crafts and jewelry sectors from all around the world. He described the fossil resin as a country brand. He said the experts have come to see from themselves where the most transparent amber in the world comes from.
https://elnuevodiario.com.do/afirma...ernacional-sobre-insectos-artropodos-y-ambar/
http://www.amberworldmuseum.com/conference/
http://www.ambercongress.org/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISTFtXcPsdg El Dia
Air Cocaine pilots sentenced to six years in France, here they had received 20 years
A court in Aix-en-Provence, France, sentenced two pilots that would have transported to France a shipment of 680kg of cocaine on board a Falcon private jet flight from Punta Cana International Airport to six years in jail. The case dates back to March 2013, when local narcotics officers detected the cocaine in 26 suitcases on board the plane that was to leave for St. Tropez in France with the two pilots and two passengers on board.
The pilots, Pascal Fauret and Bruno Odos, had been sentenced to 20 years of jail by a Dominican court that said the pilots were responsible for what was on board. While on domiciliary arrest, they fled the Dominican Republic. The pilots were rearrested in November 2015 upon their return to France.
In the same case, touted by the international press as the “Air Cocaine” case, others were handed sentences for their involvement. These were Ali Bouchareb, described as the ringleader, who was given 18 years in prison. Frank Colin was given 12 years in jail for being his accomplice. Others sentenced were members of the airplane rental company SNTHS, Fabrice Alcaud and Pierre-Marc Dreyfus, who were sentenced to six years each, and former customs agent François-Xavier Manchet, ordered to serve five years in jail.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47839516
10-passenger plane clandestinely lands off Coral Highway
Ministry of Defense, National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) and Attorney General Office reported on Saturday, 6 April 2019, on the landing of a passenger plane on Friday evening in a cane field in La Altagracia province in the east. The case is under investigation.
The authorities say that what is known is that the airplane had left from Venezuela and irregularly entered Dominican airspace at 10:25pm. The authorities had ordered the takeoff of a SuperTucano surveillance plane, but by 10:28 pm the airplane had disappeared from the radar.
At 5:50 am on Saturday, an Air Force helicopter and land forces located a Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft, with has capacity for 10 passengers, with altered registration YV312 (Venezuela) that had been abandoned on the cane field near the crossing of San Rafael de Yuma on the Coral Highway, near Batey Los Tocones.
https://listindiario.com/la-republi...regular-la-noche-del-viernes-en-la-altagracia
Frenchman hauled in by Interpol on money laundering charges
Dominican authorities arrested a French citizen on warrants stemming from charges of fraud, money laundering and identity theft originating in France. Robert Phillipe Moulis, 63, was picked up on the highway between Cabarete and Sosua in Puerto Plata on the north coast by agents of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) acting in coordination with personnel from the Department of International Cooperation of France and officials from the Attorney General Office.
Moulis faces charges of fraud committed by an organized gang, aggravated money laundering, identity theft, and criminal association. He was arrested on a warrant issued by the Dominican Supreme Court issued at the request of the Major Crimes Tribunal in Paris, France.
The extradition will be carried out in accordance with Law 285-04 which notes that persons with criminal backgrounds will not be admitted into the Dominican Republic.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...querido-por-la-justicia-de-su-pais-AO12491054
https://elnacional.com.do/apresan-frances-en-puerto-plata-acusado-de-estafa-y-lavado/
Alleged killer of three youngsters surrenders to authorities
The alleged perpetrator of the triple homicide that shocked the Santiago area last week, because it involved a young teenage girl (16), has turned himself into the authorities.
The three victims were found in a car abandoned on the Autopista Duarte near the Juan Bosch Trauma Hospital in the El Pino section of La Vega. Two victims were found in the back seat and one in the trunk of the Kia K5. All of the victims were from Ponton, Navarrete. The alleged killer, Luis Alfredo Chavez (Chino Trinitario), turned himself into the Santiago prosecutor’s office.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...sonas-halladas-en-carro-en-la-vega-FO12495550
Spouse of Foreign Relations vice minister arrested for domestic violence charge
The spouse of Foreign Relations Vice Minister Marjorie Espinosa was arrested at the Ministry of Foreign Relations on Friday, 5 April 2019. He is Police Lieutenant Carlos Bernabel Ventura Cruz, who was arrested after a complaint placed by his wife to the Attorney General’s Office. Espinosa is in charge of consular and migration affairs at the Ministry. Ventura Cruz is accused of domestic violence. Espinosa was not at the Ministry when her spouse arrived and was arrested by Ministry of Foreign Relations security officers and taken to the National District prosecution office for questioning.
Spokesman for the Police Frank Félix Durán said that after the incident, the police officer was immediately suspended. He said if he is convicted he would be automatically fired from the police force.
https://elnacional.com.do/video-apr...ie-espinosa-por-supuesta-violencia-domestica/
https://eldia.com.do/esposo-de-vice...-en-cancilleria-es-un-teniente-de-la-policia/
http://z101digital.com/policia-susp...ciller-espinosa-tras-episodio-en-cancilleria/
Rains will bring outbreaks of dengue and malaria, says medical guild
The president of the Dominican Medical Guild (CMD), Dr. Wilson Roa, said that after the rains that have fallen recently, the nation faces an outbreak of infectious diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and leptospirosis, because of the onset of more mosquitoes, and flood waters containing rodent feces. Roa forecast an increase in persons of the most exposed population, those that live in rural areas and in heavily populated, low-income barrios, will be going to the public hospitals for treatment. He alerted that many would leave without anything since the hospitals are not equipped with the necessary medicines.
Roa noted that neither the health authorities nor the health administrators (the ARS, the local equivalent to HMOs), seem to be worried about this situation, and do not spend money trying to educate the population on how to avoid these diseases. He said that “public awareness campaigns need to be directed by the state, not by intermediaries or the private sector in order for them to go directly to the people.”
He insisted advances be made in the implementation of the nationwide primary care system, and he criticized the efforts of the ARSs to maintain the current second and third tier health care system since it is the one that pays the most.
https://elnacional.com.do/dengue-y-malaria-causaran-estragos-en-la-poblacion/
The elephant in the room is just around the corner: hurricanes
The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Flora has issued its list of the 21 names to be used for tropical storms and hurricanes this season, which begins on 1 June and ends on 30 November. These names are from a list that began their rotation in 1953 and will begin anew in 2025. Names of major hurricanes, such as Michael and David and Andrew are usually removed from the lists.
This year’s list is Andrea, Barry, Chantal. Dorian. Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van and Wendy.
According to the NHC, the names are updated and listed by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. The NHC (www.nhc.noaa.gov) removed the names of two Atlantic Cat. 4 hurricanes, Florence and Michael, from the list, and substituted Francine and Milton, but these will not be used until 2024.
The 2019 season is forecast to be “slightly” below normal according to reports from Accuweather.com. The predictions from the people at the Tropical Meteorology Project at the Colorado State University in Denver published their forecasts late last week and, according to The Weather Channel, the results called for a “close to normal” season with 13 named tropical storms (12 is average) with 5 hurricanes and 2 major (Cat. 3 or larger) hurricanes. This is near the 30-year average of 12 named storms, 6 hurricanes and three major storms. The experts added that “less” does not mean less dangerous, so hurricane advisories should be carefully monitored.
https://www.diariolibre.com/actuali...atlantico-esta-el-tuyo-en-la-lista-AO12490505
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-04-04-2019-hurricane-season-outlook-colorado-state
The oldest living Dominican: 118-year old Juana Fernandez
Could the rural communities of Santiago province be the Dominican Blue Zone, or area where conditions lead the population to live long lives? Recently the community of Hato del Yaque in Santiago met to honor 118-year old Juana Francisca Fernández, considered the oldest living Dominican. They wanted to celebrate after losing another record-setting Dominican, Jaime Vicente, a farmer who recently died at age 117. The municipality said the gathering sought to recognize the importance of caring for the wellbeing of the aging in the community and to celebrate life.
Doña Juana Francisca has lived for decades in Villa Bay. She was born on 4 April 1901 in Meseta of the Municipio de Janico, Santiago province. She was 29 when would be Dictator Trujillo was first elected in 1930.
She said she has breakfast every morning with a cup of fresh milk from milked cows, Dominican cheese (queso de hoja), and farm-range chickens. One of her grandsons explained: “She is very picky about what she eats. She eats everything natural.”
She has 11 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. She says she is constantly complaining because she is no longer allowed to participate in farm activities as she did all her life.
https://www.elcaribe.com.do/2019/04...cana-tiene-118-anos-y-vive-en-hato-del-yaque/
Juan Luis Guerra releases new track: Kitipun
Legendary contemporary musician Juan Luis Guerra has shared the music video of the first single of his new record production on Friday, 5 April 2019. It is called “Kitipun.” The track is now available on all digital platform as #Kitipun. The album is scheduled to be released in May and will be his 14th. The new album will have songs composed by Guerra but also collaborations with other singers. Guerra said the sounds are a “fusion of romanticism and danceable rhythms.”
http://juanluisguerra.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpkaifThmOs