Dominican senators are skipping too many sessions, in most cases, offering weak excuses, Diario Libre reports. Out of the 32 senators in the Senate, only four have perfect attendance at all 24 sessions of the last legislative term. They are Ricardo de los Santos, president of the Senate and representative of the Sánchez Ramírez province; María Mercedes Ortiz, senator for the Hermanas Mirabal province; Guillermo Lama, senator for Bahoruco; and Odalis Rafael Rodríguez, senator for Valverde. All of them belong to the PRM, Diario Libre reports. The newspaper recently also revealed the poor work track record of the 178 deputies. Most missing legislators racked up absences with flimsy excuses.
During the first 150 days of the previous legislative term, spanning from 16 August 2024, to 12 January 2025, several senators frequently missed sessions, citing weak and unsubstantiated reasons, Diario Libre reports. Attendance records from the Senate’s website show a consistent pattern of senators using markedly short excuses to avoid being marked absent.
Senator Héctor Acosta, representing Monseñor Nouel for the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), topped the list with 21 excused absences, mostly due to medical appointments in Miami and his recovery from cancer treatments. He was the only senator to provide supporting medical documentation.
Following Acosta were Senators Bernardo Alemán (Montecristi) with 12 excused absences, Franklin Romero (Duarte) and Pedro Tineo (Monte Plata) with nine each, all from the PRM.
Diario Libre reports that a thorough review of Senate records revealed that no senator was marked absent without an excuse. However, the excuses themselves were often brief and lacked supporting evidence.
For instance, Senators Romero, Tineo, and Alemán frequently cited “unavoidable commitments,” “force majeure,” “representational responsibilities,” or “prior obligations” to justify their absences. According to the Senate minutes, none of these excuses were backed by any documentation, unlike those provided by Héctor Acosta.
The Senate’s rules require senators to submit proof for their excused absences, which must be read and approved by the plenary session.
While these four senators had the highest number of excused absences, the pattern of unsubstantiated excuses was common among other legislators.
The situation is such that the practice of reading out loud the excuses has been discontinued. Senate regulations mandate that the secretary must read aloud all excused absences at the beginning of each session. This practice was followed from the start of the legislative term in August 2024 until mid-October. Diario Libre reports that a review of the live broadcasts of the Senate sessions showed that, from October 2024 to 8 January 2025, only the names of absent senators were read, not the reasons for their absence.
Given that the PRM holds 29 of the 32 Senate seats, the majority of absences naturally occurred among its members.
The opposition Fuerza del Pueblo party, with only three seats, also had its share of absences. Senator Omar Fernández (National District), the party’s spokesperson, was absent seven times, while Senators Félix Bautista (San Juan) and Eduard Espiritusanto (La Romana) were absent six times each. They all cited commitments in their constituencies as reasons for their absences.
According to Senate rules, recurring absences with excuses could trigger an investigation by the Ethics Committee and the Disciplinary Council to verify the validity of the excuses. Penalties for unsubstantiated absences could include private reprimands, public censure, removal from legislative committees, or loss of per diem and incentives.
Legislators are well paid among public servants in the Dominican Republic and the positions come with numerous generous perks.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
DR1 News
27 January 2025