Spanish
Santo Domingo. – The spokesperson for the Fuerza del Pueblo party in the Chamber of Deputies, Rafael Castillo, harshly criticized this Monday the management of President Luis Abinader, assuring that the country is going through a serious institutional and economic crisis.
"It is worrying that at a time like the one we are living, where the government is falling apart, hospitals are not working, the subway is falling apart, health is in crisis and education begins with shortcomings in classrooms and services," said the legislator.
During an interview on the program Matutino Su Mundo, Castillo expressed that the fundamental pillars of the country, such as health, education, energy, and transportation, are going through a serious crisis. Likewise, he questioned the attitude of the ruling party by stating:
"I never saw the PLD hold a press conference at the moment when they were buying mayors or elected and active deputies."
Supplementary budget is a "scam"
The legislator also lashed out at the recently approved supplementary budget, which he described as a "scam" that only seeks to finance political expenses.
Castillo denounced that the increase of RD$69,000 million contemplated in the budget comes from loans, funds kept in the banks and unexecuted items from previous years, which in his opinion constitutes an irregular practice.
"We are told that there are institutions that did not exhaust their budget in previous years, but they do not report which ones. That is mocking the system itself," he pointed out.
Furthermore, he questioned the allocation of RD$35,000 million for capital investment without detailing which works will be built. "The Government says it has spent 99.3% of the resources and there is not a single visible work," he stated.
The Government is broke
Castillo maintained that the State is going through a liquidity crisis and that a large part of the funds from the supplementary budget will be used to "pay double salaries, throw parties, give out bonuses and RD$1,500 cards to PRM colleagues".
"We are facing an incapable government, which mocks the system and keeps the country without water, without electricity, without food and without basic services, despite managing the highest budget in history," he declared.
Tax reform and tax evasion
The congressman acknowledged the need for a tax reform in the country, but criticized the government's intention to impose taxes without first tackling tax evasion.
He recalled that the State loses 43% of ITBIS and 63% of income tax, so he called to strengthen collection before burdening citizens with more taxes.
“It's not the same to pursue those who evade taxes as it is to burden with taxes everyone who owns a house, a vehicle, or a small business. That would be a regressive and unfair blow,” he explained.
Collapse of social security
Castillo warned that the system is collapsing. He assured that the situation is no secret to anyone, since more than 70% of doctors do not accept insurance and patients' out-of-pocket expenses are around 45% or more.
In terms of pensions, he explained that there is a serious shortcoming, because the date of the first retirements is approaching and the replacement rate barely reaches 23%, which represents a great concern for future pensioners.
"The Government must responsibly assume the modification of the law, because this issue is directly linked to money. The State, in one way or another, is responsible for both the subsidized insured and the pension system. In the end, the Dominican State will have to answer," he emphasized.
The legislator reported that, after the beginning of the legislature, the bicameral commission met for the first time this Tuesday with the aim of continuing to listen to the different sectors. As part of this process, the realization of ten public hearings was approved, one in each region of the country.
He specified that two initial public hearings had already been proposed, in La Vega and Maracaibo, with the purpose of covering places different from those of previous processes. However, he explained that the dates had to be postponed because nine members of the commission were also part of the group working on the revision of the Penal Code.
"Today we restart and we are going to reschedule the dates, but we continue to receive the sectors," he concluded.
