The Presidency has announced it will not proceed with the controversial Bahia de las Aguilas deal. The Presidency announced the deal after it was exposed in 7dias.com.do. In an statement by Presidency spokesman Roberto Rodriguez Rodriguez Marchena yesterday, Thursday 21 February, the Presidency acknowledged what experts have been saying all along: that the lands in question already belong to the state.
Rodriguez Marchena said that the Presidency would await a definitive decision on the case from the courts. The Presidency accepted criticism from various sectors that rejected the government’s deal with individuals who are accused of obtaining property titles fraudulently. The spokesman called the Attorney General and the National District Attorney to take on responsibility for defending the interests of the state in this case that has languished in the courts for 16 years mainly as a result of postponements by state prosecutors.
Lawyer Laura Acosta said that it is evident that the government listens when citizens take an active stance. She said this is the way to build a nation where the rule of the law prevails. “We are a duo, nobody else will win,” she said referring to what happens when government and citizens work together.
Speaking on the Huchi Lora CDN afternoon radio talk show she declared: “The President listened to the voice of the citizens about the plunder of public assets.” She said the latest development could bring a change in state prosecutors’ actions during the 4 March Supreme Court of Justice hearing to override another court order that called for closing the case against the individuals accused of fraudulently obtaining property titles in the coveted Pedernales beach area. The state prosecutors have been criticized for repeatedly postponing the hearing for no apparent reason.
Senator Wilton Guerrero says the case has involved 16 years of impunity, government complicity with the courts and officials in the Hipolito Mejia and Leonel Fernandez administrations. The Presidency decision is being described as a victory for citizen action, similar to the successful campaigns against the Los Haitises cement factory and the 4% of GDP for education.
www.presidencia.gob.do/noticia.php?type=release&id=1371