Attorney General Virgilio Bello Rosa said that his department is negotiating a 30% discount with suppliers to honor checks for past debts. He justified this because of the practice of overcharging the government. A story in Saturday’s Hoy newspaper says Bello Rosa explained the money collected is being deposited in a special account opened in the National Treasury. This is by instructions from President Hipólito Mejía, as per a decree whose number was not revealed. Bello Rosa said that the persons receiving payments are obliged to deposit themselves the certified check with the discounted money in the National Treasury account. Former Comptroller of the past administration, Haivanjoe Ng Cortiñas had complained that the new government was charging a "toll" to allow suppliers and contractors to cash checks. Several checks issued in the past administration have a stop payment obliging the contractors or suppliers to negotiate with the new government.
