Paino Abreu, president of the Coordinating Commission of the Natural Resources and Environmental Sector, explained that the Environmental Bill was approved with last minute modifications following an agreement reached between President-elect Hipólito Mejía and former President Joaquín Balaguer. At last minute, the deputies inserted contents of the Decree 233-96 that had been issued in the final days of the Balaguer administration, and repealed the recently passed Forestry Law. This has senators of tourism-oriented provinces (Barahona, Monte Cristi, La Altagracia, La Romana, El Seibo and Samana) furious. The National Association of Hotels & Restaurants has also protested the bill, favoring the previous version that promoted sustainable development. The director of the National Parks Department, Omar Ramírez said that political interests have prevailed. As passed, the bill permits the creation of 320 posts, while creating a judicial limbo for the environmental sector. The bill now only needs to be signed into law by President Leonel Fernández. Columnist Orlando Gil of the El Siglo newspaper said that commercial and individual interests prevailed. Senators Darío Gómez Martínez (PRD-Santiago Rodriguez) and José González Espinosa (PTD-Barahona) said they would take the case to the Supreme Court of Justice that the Law of Environment and Natural Resources violates the Constitution. The bill has the support of the Academy of Science. El Caribe newspaper mentions that historian Frank Moya Pons will be appointed Minister of the newly created Ministry of Environment.
