Appearing on TV yesterday, District Attorney Manuel Hernandez Peguero criticized the fact that a dozen high-ranking PRD party members were present in the court room as Judge Victor Martinez reviewed the Plan Renove case. The DA also was critical of Senator Hernani Salazar, who passed a piece of paper to the judge while he was studying the case. Salazar is a former supervisor of Public Works and a close collaborator of former President Hipolito Mejia during the previous government administration. Despite Salazar’s not being elected to the Senate, he was able to negotiate for the seat for the province of Duarte.
On the other hand, Listin Diario’s political commentator Orlando Gil points out that politics has also prevailed in the Renove case being prepared by government prosecutors. He points to the absence of Juan Hubieres and Amadeo Lorenzo from the case file, supposedly because of their close ties to Mejia’s vociferous re-election opponent, Hatuey de Camps, according to a source close to the PRD.
Gil says that politics should not permeate this case. “The truth is that the crimes mentioned in the case files are not political, but of common law, and they should be considered as such,” he writes.
The political analyst is furthermore critical of the government’s timid handling of the case, especially when making the exception of releasing the accused, so they would not spend the weekend in jail, even when the taxes had not been paid. “This fear of meddling with politics can result in not only the government losing its battle, but also the war against corruption, to which it is obliged for many reasons, even politics,” he writes.
Gil also feels that the Department for the Prevention of Corruption (Depreco) should not intervene, as they are there to prevent corruption, not prosecute it.