The Chamber of Deputies approved a third resolution declaring the National State of Emergency in the Dominican Republic. The resolution enables the government to skip over normal procurement procedures and restrict the transit of people in the country, among other measures. The President had requested the extension on 24 April for a period of 25 days and this was approved by the Senate. Yet, the Chamber of Deputies reduced the term to 17 days.
The bill now returns to the Senate on Wednesday, 29 April. The PLD is mayority in the Senate and the bill is expected to be promptly approved in time so that the state of emergency that expires on 30 April can continue. The State of Emergency will start on 1 May and continue for 17 days.
The Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) had requested the extension be conditioned to ensure more transparency and accountability. The opposition party officials have presented dozens of cases of irregularities in government procurement. During the session, the block of PRM deputies accused the Public Health Minister of using the press briefings to campaign for PLD presidential candidate Gonzalo Castillo. The PRM has been calling for a national encounter with social, business and industry, economic and political leadership for a national pact for the management of the crisis in its four dimensions: health, economics, electoral and social.
During the session, the president of the Chamber of Deputies sent the bill that would enable formal employees to have advance access to 30% of their pension funds during the emergency period to the hacienda committee.
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Hoy
29 April 2020