President Luis Abinader spent a good part of his campaign promising Dominicans he would deliver star in his prosecutor. He promised the Attorney General would be a person known for independence of criteria. He was quite open about all this when tweeting he had chosen former Supreme Court of Justice criminal court judge, the legendarily tough Miriam German Brito to be his Attorney General.
But now, it seems the President is not putting the money with the talk. The Attorney General Office has gone on record protesting the situation. The PGR says that the funds allotted in the 2021 National Budget budget bill are not enough. The PGR says the department had requested RD$11.7 billion, which was the same as the government had allotted the department in the 2020 National Budget. But, surprise. In the 2021 National Budget, the PGR only gets RD$7.0 billion, or 40% less.
Speaking for the PGR, the director of Planning and Development at the PGR, Caliope Malena Coronado says that the amount is not enough to guarantee the planned effective prosecution of crime and the consolidation of prison reform.
She says the money is essential to meet fixed operating costs, guarantee effective prosecution of crime, and ensure staff training, including the correctional officers for opening new centers. It is also insufficient to improve the wages of the PGR staff of around 9,700.
Coronado says that Law 194-04 allots 4.10% of the tax collections for the administration of justice. Of this, 65% corresponds to the Supreme Court of Justice and 35% to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Executive Branch sent the 2021 National Budget Bill to the Chamber of Deputies last week. A Senate-Chamber of Deputies committee is studying the bill.
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Attorney General Office
8 October 2020