SANTO DOMINGO.– The Codiano Institutional Committee (CIC) requested the National Congress to approve a resolution urging the Executive Branch to include, within this year's supplementary budget, the necessary resources to begin paying the debts recognized to public works contractors, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 16-26.
The request was addressed to the presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, Ricardo de los Santos and Alfredo Pacheco, through a communication delivered by a commission made up of the architect Emiliano Familia and the engineer Miguel Liberato, general coordinator and spokesperson of the committee, respectively.
They are seeking to have the law implemented this year
The CIC stated that the allocation of resources would allow the implementation of Law 16-26, approved to establish the mechanism for recognizing and paying outstanding obligations to contractors who carried out works for the State.
The organization argued that including these funds in the revised budget would make it easier for the first disbursements to be made before the end of the current fiscal year.
He also noted that the first working session of the Executive Commission created by the legislation was recently announced, a step he considers necessary to advance in the validation of the files and the subsequent scheduling of payments.
They propose a resolution of support
In addition to requesting the incorporation of resources into the supplementary budget, the committee asked Congress to approve a resolution in support of the implementation of Law 16-26 and to urge the Executive Commission to expedite the review of the files submitted by the contractors.
According to the proposal, the resolution should also be sent to the President of the Republic; the Ministry of Finance and Economy, which chairs the Executive Commission; the Ministry of the Presidency; the General Directorate of Budget (Digepres); the Comptroller General of the Republic and the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA).
Contractors maintain expectations about the process
The CIC noted that among the contractors awaiting the application of the law are elderly professionals, people with health problems, and relatives of deceased contractors who still have outstanding claims against the State.
The organization reiterated its willingness to collaborate with the authorities during the implementation of the regulations and expressed its expectation that the process will allow the payments contemplated by the legislation to begin this year.
"Law 16-26 has already been approved and enacted. Now it is necessary to allocate the resources needed so that contractors can begin receiving the payments stipulated in the law this year," the committee stated in the communication sent to the National Congress.
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