Former Foreign Minister Hugo Tolentino Dipp has accused the National Business Council (CONEP) of being silent in the face of private corruption. He said that there is a sector of the private business community that is linked to illegal practices. The PRD vice president considered that the government has to act firmly with these businessmen. “Organizations like CONEP rightly criticize government performance, but they are not critical when it comes to their own practices,” he said when interviewed on Aeromundo by Guillermo Gomez, as reported in Hoy newspaper. He said that there are businessmen that have acted against the law, yet in spite of that; the business organization thinks it is entitled to defend its members’ interests, forgetting that its mission is to act in the national interest. Tolentino criticized the Department of Customs for identifying smuggling and then resolving these problems behind closed doors, and applying penalties that are not part of the law. He said that the identity of any person involved in contraband should be made public, and the law must be applied.
In his opinion, these types of problems will continue until action is taken at the highest levels of power. He urged the President, the political parties and private sector institutions to cease these illegal practices. The former minister also challenged the President be transparent in his actions regarding government money.