The National Congress passed a telecommunications bill that all along was surrounded by strange circumstances. Twenty-five minutes was all the Chamber of Deputies needed to convert into law the telecommunications bill that had been studied in a rush by the Chamber of Deputies, sent to the Senate where it was modified, and then subject to the controversy of clauses being modified without the knowledge of the president of the Senate who accused Senator Ramón Alburquerque of falsifying the bill. The senator denied the accusation saying that everything was done openly. The Executive Branch had announced intention of vetoing the bill, and the judicial consultant of the Presidency said an investigation into the irregular handling of the bill may be requested from the Supreme Court. The President has three days to veto the bill. If he does so, it returns to the Chamber of Deputies that would then need 2/3 of the deputies to pass it. The Executive Branch has said it will submit a different bill, which was written with the support of the United Nations, in the legislature starting 27 February. The bill received the support of the majority of PRD-Acuerdo de Santo Domingo congressmen, and met with the opposition of the PLD senators and a majority of Reformista legislators that did not attend the session. Of 67 deputies present, 62 voted in favor, and 5 voted against.
