Spanish
Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader hinted this Monday that the Labor Code, after having expired in the National Congress, will be reintroduced by the Executive Branch in the legislature that begins on August 16 and that a month later the piece could be approved.
He also referred to the Penal Code, which is known in the extraordinary legislature convened by him, and pointed out that "we are going to wait and see what comes" from Congress.You may be interested in: http://Más de dos millones de dominicanos han salido de la pobreza monetaria, afirma Abinader
"The labor project was agreed upon by 90 or 95%, and the workers and the Government agreed that severance pay would not be touched, the employers were aware of that, but they requested that other articles be carefully studied", pointed out the president in his usual Monday press conference.
In that order, he mentioned that the project "can" be reintroduced on August 16th and that after a month he considers it should be approved. As for the Criminal Code, he did not anticipate his position when the initiative is approved, as the legislators have practically pointed out, and rather referred to his family, who do not agree that the reform maintains the criminalization of abortion. "My family is very independent, the girls (his three daughters), who are not so young, have their own opinions and I am proud of that. I have always encouraged them to think for themselves, even if we don't agree 100 percent on this or that issue, that's positive," he replied. The wife of, Raquel Arbaje, along with her daughters Graciela, Esther and Adriana, are among the more than a thousand signatories of an open letter that rejects the approval of the new Penal Code in its current version, alleging that it represents "serious setbacks" in terms of human rights. The document, addressed directly to the president, was signed by activists, professionals, academics, journalists, jurists, social organizations, and citizens concerned about the ethical and social impact that this legislation would have. Among the main concerns, the letter denounces an "extremely limited classification of femicide", which only recognizes three circumstances, leaving out numerous cases of lethal violence against women. Likewise, evidentiary barriers are warned in cases of domestic violence that make serious aggressions invisible and contradict international standards. Another critical point highlighted in the letter is the statute of limitations for sexual offenses, even in cases of incest or rape of girls, which, according to the signatories, favors silence and impunity. Furthermore, the text condemns the absolute exclusion of the three minimum grounds for abortion — risk to the woman's life, fetal inviability, and rape or incest — a position that, they claim, endangers the lives of thousands of women and girls in the country. However, the Senate of the Republic approved the Penal Code without the decriminalization of abortion, while the deputies are studying the project after disagreeing with the content of all the articles approved by the senators. If the project undergoes modifications in the Chamber of Deputies, it has to return to the Senate for review.
