The Secretary of the Presidency, Danilo Medina, told El Nacional newspaper that the recent salary increase announced for the President and members of his cabinet will be maintained, despite the protests of several key public figures both in and outside politics. The argument against the salary raises, articulated by 1996 presidential candidate Jose Francisco Peña Gomez, is that those who need the increase the most, the middle and lower level civil servants, have not been favored by the measure, while the financially affluent President and cabinet members have benefited.
Those who favor the raise claim that the prior salary of RD$10,000 per month did not attract qualified personnel to government service, and encouraged corruption, since it is obvious that most cabinet members in previous administrations enjoyed lifestyles not commensurate with their salaries. President Leonel Fernandez says that the new increase, which puts his salary at RD$90,000 per month, demands less of the federal budget than would an across the board raise for all civil servants.
The measure has also sparked a movement by members of Congress to increase their salaries, an idea that has received criticism from all sides, especially as their attendance and work record has been quite poor during the current congressional term.