According to the provisions of article five of Law 311-14 on sworn declarations of assets, public servants and officials are obliged to present within 30 days after assuming their functions the details of all assets that make up their assets.
This coming May 16 will be nine months since the swearing in of the new authorities of the Government headed by President Luis Abinader, and in that sense, according to the website of the Chamber of Accounts of the Dominican Republic, around 3,919 officials of the different public institutions of the new and past administration have not made their sworn statement of assets.
In the reports section of the portal of the Chamber of Accounts is where the sworn declarations of assets are found, in the section of “Omisos Electos”, there is a list containing the identified elected officials who have not presented their DPJ (Declaracion Jurada de Patrimonio).
Among these officials are eight deputies of the current administration, among them Yenrry Manuel Ovalle Acosta, Lourdes Josefina Aybar and Eddy Oscar Montás Guerrero, all from the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD).
While from the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), deputies Felix Santiago Hiciano, Eugenio Cedeño Areche, Miguel Cabrera José, Antonio Geraldo Vargas Concepción and Altagracia Yarelys Gerónimo Encarnación are present in the list of those who have not presented the sworn declaration of assets.
Law 311-14 in its Article 14 indicates that public officials in office are obliged to present their sworn statements of assets and if they fail to do so within the term stipulated in said law they would be incurring in serious misdemeanors, as the case may be, which are established within Law 41-08 of Public Function, which indicates that these misdemeanors would lead to the removal from office.
The Dominican Alliance Against Corruption, (Adocco), deplored that around three thousand elected officials and ex-officials, have not complied with the precept of Law 311-14, on the sworn declarations of assets, who are obliged to declare, upon arrival and departure from the position for which they were elected.
Likewise, during Wednesday’s session, several deputies pointed out when questioned about the denunciation made by Adocco of legislators who have not yet presented their declarations, that these should be “suspended from their functions”, for incurring in serious faults to the law.
While others catalogued as “worrisome” that some of their colleagues in the Chamber of Accounts have not presented their declarations and that they are still in force in their functions as public officials, for which they suggested to reinforce the law of the Chamber of Accounts to establish stronger sanctions against these public servants.
Likewise, among the officials who have not yet presented their sworn declarations are former senators, deputies and former deputies, also administrative secretaries of the Senate of the Republic and the Chamber of Deputies, mayors, deputy mayors, councilors, municipal treasurers and directors and treasurers of municipal districts.
