Archive for July, 2019
Business and labor representatives agreed on a 14% increase to the general minimum wage. As reported, the proposal came from the government to end a long impasse in the minimum wage talks. The unions called it a victory for workers, even though the increase was less than they had demanded. The labor representatives had sought a 25% increase.
The business sectors were not able to convince labor to approve the reclassification of companies. The reclassification would especially benefit small business that now pays the same minimum wage as large business, even in cases where special sector schemes apply.
The government said that the reclassification of companies would be discussed in 60 days.
Employers were reportedly not happy with the decision and said that they would shortly call a press conference.
The minimum wage for big business is now at RD$17,610, medium-sized business level is RD$12,107 and small company minimum wage is RD$10,728 per month.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
July 18, 2019
On Monday, 8 July 2019, nine people drowned (eight Haitians and one Dominican), when a car they were traveling in, a Toyota Camry, fell into the Ulises Francisco Espaillat irrigation canal, in the community of Barrero, in the municipality of Navarrete, Santiago province. Those who died were three women and six men. There were five people injured and two of them were taken to hospital in Santiago.
The bodies were recovered from the canal, but have not yet been identified. An investigation is ongoing to determine how the tragedy occurred. As reported, it is usual that a large number of illegal Haitians be transported in sedan cars, many hidden in the truck to avoid immigration checks. As reported, the vehicle was evading military patrols in the area to prevent people-smuggling through Dajabón.
Apparently, there were 17 people in the car, including the nine who died, five who are injured and three who fled the scene. Preliminary reports say the driver was Dominican and the passengers were undocumented Haitians.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
July 18, 2019
Update:
Following the car accident on Monday, 8 July 2019, when nine people died, the driver has now been identified as 46-year-old Miguel Antonio Castro Mercedes. He had been arrested in 2018 for smuggling 10 packs of marijuana and 249 sacks of garlic.
Of the eight Haitians who died, three have been identified. These are Janvier Dieufait, Jean Bernard Pierre and Exaneau Cabe. The bodies were taken to the National Institute of Forensic Science in Santiago. Nelson Jamel, aged 21, is one of the five who were injured.
The nine died when the Toyota Camry with 17 persons plunged into an irrigation canal in Santiago province. The passengers were undocumented Haitians. The driver lost control of the vehicle when trying to evade military migration checks on the way to Santiago from Dajabón on the border.
Source: Eldia
The Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with Waste Free Oceans (WFO) for the cleanup of the Ozama and Isabela rivers. The agreement also contemplates the construction of low-cost housing in the area.
WFO will assist the government in developing a master plan for the cleanup of the Ozama and Isabela rivers. The agreement will provide recommendations about how to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of surrounding areas.
Working in collaboration with other private and public partners under the Coalición Río (River Coalition), WFO Americas aims to restore the Ozama and Isabela rivers and develop treatment systems for industrial water so that locals can enjoy their beauty again.
The project includes providing technical assistance and education to improve the capacity of communities to collect, recycle and reuse material, and the development of a master plan to identify best practices and opportunities to implement a more circular economy.
Waste Free Oceans collects and transforms ocean plastic into new, innovative products. They partner with recyclers, converters and brands to make optimal use of available resources and to raise awareness on the issue of ocean plastic. Based in Brussels, it also operates in the Americas, Asia and Turkey.
WFO Americas is also contributing to community-led development in the La Nueva Barquita housing development where many impoverished dwellers of the area were relocated to advance on the restoring of the Ozama and Isabela rivers and the sustainable development of the area.
Source: https://www.wastefreeoceans.org/projects
July 18, 2019
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas traveled to Antigua for the formal opening of the Dominican Embassy in St. John’s. During the event, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, ratified the will of their governments to continue consolidating bilateral ties.
In Antigua, Vargas signed an air services agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Risk Management and Disasters at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Relations in that nation’s capital. The MOU was signed to address the frequent natural disasters in the Caribbean. Trade, Commerce, Industry, Sports, Culture and National Festivals Minister E.P. Chet Greene signed for Antigua and Barbuda. The parties favored increased trade and cooperation in areas that positively impact both countries.
“For the Dominican Republic, the strengthening of relations with the countries of the region is very important,” said Vargas, who pointed out that between 10 and 15% of the population of Antigua is of Dominican origin.
Among other issues, Vargas also raised interest in the former airline LIAT resuming flights to Dominican territory.
In addition, he thanked Prime Minister Browne for donating the land where the definitive headquarters of the Dominican Embassy in St. John’s will be built. The embassy is located at Jasmine Court on Friars Hill Road. The Dominican ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda is Raquel Jacobo.
During the event, Greene said: “The opening of the embassy is a step forward for Antigua and Barbuda and the Dominican Republic who share ties of geography and history, noting that today a significant number of Dominican Republic nationals reside in Antigua and Barbuda.”
He further noted that, since the 1920s, Antiguans migrated to the DR to work in the sugar plantations and many have remained there.”
Greene disclosed that his grandfather was one of those who journeyed to the DR and today he has discovered members of his family living in the Spanish-speaking country.
Greene also mentioned that Antigua and Barbuda would have interest in the DR’s well-developed institute to train diplomats which he learned of on his visit in May. This, he said, would help “to produce a cadre of young, trained diplomats to man the diplomatic services.”
The air services and MOU signed are in addition to three other instruments signed on 27 May when Greene visited Santo Domingo.
Source: DR1, Elcaribe
July 18, 2019
Pitchers Sandy Alcántara of the Miami Marlins and Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds, and fielder Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks were selected for the National League. For the American League, field players Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees and Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians and Jorge Polanco of the Minnesota Twins will be playing in the 2019 Major League Baseball All Star Game.
The Midsummer Classic this year will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, 9 July 2019 at 7pm, Cleveland time. The game will be transmitted on Fox network.
Source: CBSsports
July 6, 2019
The Customs Agency (DGA) reminds users to register with the Single Customs Registry (RUA). The DGA is now requiring that all those making purchases online register to continue using express dispatch or courier services to receive the goods ordered abroad. The single customs record seeks to combat tax evasion.
The deadline expires on 28 July 2019, as established in DGA General Norm 01-2018 that regulates merchandise that enters the country via courier companies.
The norm is a follow up to Decree 402-05, which allows for duty-free import of items up to US$200 FOB value. General Norm 01-2018 was put into effect in April 2018 as a response to the irregularities the DGA said were occurring when users began to divide up imports to take advantage of the tax exemption of items for up to US$200, when these were intended for commercial purposes.
The DGA now requires all courier users to have a registration number to use the service. An online form needs to be completed. The file seeks to differentiate between those making online purchases for personal reasons and those done for commercial purchases.
The DGA says that as soon as the short form is filled out, the system will reply with an email sent to the email address included by the user to confirm the registration has been made by the owner and not a third party without their consent. This email contains a link, valid for 24 hours, which must be clicked to complete the registration and receive confirmation.
The DGA says that those who have not registered by 28 July could have their packages retained until they complete the registration.
https://dgii.gov.do/legislacion/regl…nts/402-05.pdf
https://www.aduanas.gob.do/de-inter%…istro-courier/
Source: DR1
July 6, 2019
Two Dominican 16-year olds cashed in signing MLB minor league contracts for upwards of US$5 million bonuses this week. Jasson Domínguez (The Martian) with the New York Yankees, a new record for a Dominican prospect. Domínguez will get a US$5.1 million and US$250,000 in potential scholarship money should he choose to further his education. The No. 2 prospect, The Oakland Athletics signed No. 2 international prospect, Robert Puason. Puason and Domínguez trained at the teams’ baseball academies in the Dominican Republic.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
July 6, 2019
WhatsApp, the messaging platform has announced that they will withdraw service from several models of cell phones from 1 July 2019. The application will no longer be available on Blackberry, Windows Phone and those with a version before Android 2.3.3, Windows Phone 7 and iOS 7. Besides, phones with Blackberry OS, Blackberry 10, and Windows Phone 8 will only have service until the end of this year. Those phones with a version of Android 2.3.7 up to Android 4 will continue to receive assistance until February 2020.
According to Statista.com, the social network most used by Dominicans is not Facebook, Instagram or YouTube, but rather WhatsApp.
Whatsapp is the preferred social network, with 77% of the social network users in the country.
This is followed by Facebook with 73%, YouTube at 46% and Instagram with 41%.
Even though Instagram is in fourth place, the Dominican Republic is one of the countries with the highest penetration of the app.
In fifth place is Snapchat with 23%, then Twitter with 21%, and finally LinkedIn and Tumblr with 4% each.
Source: DR1, DiarioLibre
July 6, 2019
The Constitutional Court ruled that the articles of the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure that impose restrictions on foreigners to sue or be part of a judicial process are null and void. These had forced many foreigners who did not own real estate here to post bond to litigate. The cost of the bond or real estate was pegged to the amount of what was being disputed in the legal case.
The Constitutional Court declared the provisions contained in articles 16 of the Civil Code and 166 and 167 of the Code of Civil Procedure to be inconsistent with the Constitution. It stated that these violated articles 39, 40, paragraph 15 and 69 of the Constitution of the Republic, which establish the right to equality, liberty and personal security and adequate judicial protection and due process.
With the ruling, the Constitutional Court upheld a direct action of unconstitutionality filed on 26 December 2000 by the Fundacion Fesore, Inc.
Source: DR1, Listindoario
July 6, 2019
The National Police announced the arrest on Friday, 28 June 2019, of two of three persons still sought in the case where Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz was almost killed on 9 June at the Dial Bar & Lounge of Av. Venezuela. That evening, Ortiz was engaged in conversation with his friend Sixto David Fernández Vásquez when he was shot in the back at close range by a man who had gotten off a motorcycle. The authorities say Ortiz was mistakenly shot. The authorities say that Fernández Vásquez was the target, not David Ortiz, but this was botched up by the contracted killer. Fernández was a regular at the Dial Bar & Lounge.
Arrested on Friday were the alleged attempted murder mastermind Victor Hugo Gómez Vásquez and his accomplice Alberto Miguel Rodriguez Mota.
Gómez Vásquez was arrested at a house located in the Residencial Carmen Renata III, in Pantoja, Santo Domingo West. As reported, Gómez Vásquez was sought in the US for his alleged role with a Texas drug trafficking ring related to Mexico’s Gulf Cartel and had arrived recently from on a boat trip from Puerto Rico.
Rodríguez Mota was detained off the coast of Samaná as he attempted to flee in a boat to Puerto Rico. Authorities said he carried an adulterated ID. The ID had Rodríguez Mota’s photo, but the data indicated it belonged to Jorge Enrique Leroux Matos.
Shortly before his arrest, Gomez Vasquez released a video statement denying that he was involved in the June 9 attack. “I don’t harm people. I’ve never harmed anyone,” he said in the video. Gómez said he would “never” order to kill Big Papi. He used the video, nevertheless, to tell on his cousin, Fernández Vásquez.
In the video he tells that his cousin dealt with capos. Fernández is known to be the owner of the Auto-Paint shop in Villa Consuelo, Santo Domingo. “Sixto David Fernández is not such a saint, he is not simply a businessman who does nothing wrong, he dedicates himself to approach travelers, Dominicanyorks, and introduces them to the local capos of the Dominican Republic,” said Gómez in the 7-minute video that is circulating on social media. Gómez said the Dominicanyorks return to the US and then send his cousin money to pay for luxury cars and apartments. He said sometimes his cousin did not use the money as he had agreed to and then would run into debt because he lives a lavish life of expensive women and expensive cars.
In the video, Gómez says that in Santo Domingo people know who David Fernández is. Gómez said that those who don’t believe him just have to check 10 past years of shipments that Fernández has received from Dominicanyorks. He explained Fernández is compensated for connecting the vendor and the buyer.
In turn, the other arrested on Friday, Rodríguez Mota is accused of hiring the contract murder. A surveillance video showed him at the Santo Domingo nightclub hours before the shooting and how he stalked Fernández as the later waited for his close friend David Ortiz and others to arrive.
Police say that Gómez Vásquez sought to kill his cousin, Sixto David Fernández, because Fernández had reported him to police years ago, leading to his arrest in 2011. Reports are now that Gómez had made a comment that he did not want to see Fernández, concerned that he could tell the authorities that he had come to the country, escaping arrest in the United States. This would have set off the move to kill Fernández.
The Police have arrested around 14 people in the shooting yet say one suspect is at large: Luis Alfredo Rivas Clase (El Cirujano). In this case, others under arrest are: Franklin Junior Merán (Rubirosa), José Eduardo Ciprián Lebrón, Carlos Rafael Álvarez, Lanny Estefanny Pérez Reyes, Rolfi Ferreira Cruz (the man who fired the shot at David Ortiz), Joel Rodríguez de la Cruz (Calamardo), Porfirio Ayendi Dechamps Vásquez (Nene), Reynaldo Rodríguez Valenzuela, Oliver Moisés Mirabal, Eddy Vladimir Féliz García (El Nata) and Gabriel Alexander Pérez Vizcaíno (Hueso) and Junior César La Hoz Vargas.
Over the weekend, a court ordered a year pre-trial custody to the three arrested on Friday, 28 June 2019 that were Alberto Rodríguez Mota, Julio César de la Hoz and Víctor Hugo Gómez Vásquez.
In a new development, the authorities say the price of the “job” was US$30,000 and not the RD$400,000 Police director General Ney Aldrin Bautista had said during a previous press conference.
Source: DR1, Bostonglode
July 6, 2019
