The PRM majority Senate chose Emma Polanco Melo to be the next president of the Chamber of Accounts, the government entity tasked with auditing government. Francisco Tamárez Florentino was chosen as the vice president. The appointments were approved by 23 out of 26 senators present at the regular session on 22 April 2025.
Joining Polanco and Florentino as members of the chamber will be Francisco Alberto Franco Soto, Ramón Méndez Acosta, and Griselda Gómez Santana. The decision came after the report presented by Senator Guillermo Lama, who chaired the committee reviewing the nominees sent by the Chamber of Deputies. The representative of the Fuerza del Pueblo issued a dissenting report arguing that the choice lacked genuine consensus and had been imposed by the majority.
An accountant and academician, Polanco Melo is the former rector of the State University of Santo Domingo (UASD). She had served as the first woman to head the state university.
Previously, she had served two terms as dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (FCES) at the UASD (2002-2005 and 2005-2008) and vice dean of the FCES on two terms also, (1996-1999 and 1999-2002). She also served as administrative vice rector of the UASD in 2014 after which she was elected rector of the UASD in 2018.
She was rector of the UASD (2018-2022) during the Covid-19 shutdown and led the instating of online digital learning platforms for the university.
Outside of the UASD, she had directed the School of Accounting at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC) from 1991-1994.
She graduated in accounting from the UASD. From 2005 and 2007, she completed a master’s degree, and later a doctorate in Applied Economics at the University of the Basque Country (UPV) in Spain. She also has postgraduate degrees in Tax Accounting and Cost Accounting from the UASD.
Born in Puerto Plata, she is married to sociologist Candido Mercedes, a well-known and respected civil society activist.
Diario Libre publishes the background of Polanco and the other members of the entity responsible for auditing and overseeing government spending. These bring diverse professional backgrounds and extensive experience in accounting, finance, law and public administration.
Meet the other new members:
• Francisco Tamárez Florentino: A seasoned accountant with over 30 years of experience leading private audit firms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UASD and is an authorized public accountant. Florentino also possesses a law degree from Universidad de la Tercera Edad (UTE) and has pursued further studies in English, computer science, and electronics.
• Ramón Méndez Acosta: A highly qualified professional with a bachelor’s in accounting and degrees in constitutional and public law. He has a master’s in higher education and post-graduate work in financial administration and tax planning. Acosta has served as chief auditor at several state institutions, including the Chamber of Deputies and the Civil Aviation agency.
• Francisco Alberto Franco Soto: A prominent lawyer with a wide-ranging academic profile. He holds a bachelor’s in law from Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre Maestra (PUCMM) and multiple master’s degrees from prestigious institutions like Universidad Castilla-La Mancha and the University of Salamanca, focusing on constitutional law, fundamental rights, and state administration.
• Griselda Gómez Santana: A dual lawyer and marketer with a strong public sector background. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in law and marketing from UASD and pursued master’s degrees in public policy and economics at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. At the time of her appointment, she was directing expenditure quality and budget evaluation at the Budget Agency after 26 years with the institution.
The Chamber of Accounts for the past decades has not carried out its role as a check on government use of funds, mainly because of politicians pulling strings to avoid accountability.
Read more:
Diario Libre
El Dia
El Dia
Wikipedia
Chamber of Deputies
Esta Noche con Mariasela
Chamber of Accounts Law 18-24
El Nuevo Diario
UASD
23 April 2025