SANTO DOMINGO.– Miguel Liberato, the authorized spokesperson for the Codiano Institutional Committee, expressed concerns about the scope of the bill intended for the payment of state debts to public works contractors.
The businessman explained that the initial proposal was channeled through the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects, and Surveyors (CODIA) and contained a specific list of contractors, contract numbers, and amounts owed. However, he asserted that the document was modified during the legislative process.
According to him, the group he represents consists of 92 contractors linked to 117 projects, with an outstanding amount of RD$390 million. However, he stated that the version under discussion includes more than 570 people and a figure close to RD$3 billion, without breaking down the individual amounts.
Debts accumulated by previous administrations
In an interview on the television program "El Día" on Telesistema, Liberato stated that the outstanding obligations date back to various government administrations. He explained that part of the debt corresponds to the government of Joaquín Balaguer, another portion to administrations of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), and also to the period of the PRD. He indicated that the most recent debt within his group dates back to 2012.
In that context, he stated that in past administrations, including those led by Leonel Fernández and Danilo Medina, some contractors faced requests for intermediation with commissions that, he said, could reach up to 40% to manage outstanding payments.
Observations on the current process
The spokesperson also referred to differences in the application of administrative criteria, pointing to the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED) for alleged additional documentary requirements not included in the general instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Given this scenario, the Codiano Institutional Committee proposes that the legislation include clearer validation mechanisms, a specific application regulation fund managed by the Treasury that guarantees transparency and traceability in payments.
Liberato reiterated that the sector's objective is for the process to be carried out in accordance with the law and without incorporating beneficiaries without due technical and contractual verification.
In context
In January, the National Congress approved a bill ordering the payment of old debts to more than 300 small contractors to whom the State has owed money since 1996. The legislation authorized public administration entities, in an exceptional and restrictive manner, to exempt them from complying with the selection processes established in Law No. 340-06 on Public Procurement and Contracting.
A week later, President Luis Abinader returned it to the Chamber of Deputies, with observations on the entire bill - all 14 articles - arguing that it violates essential principles of the Constitution and orders payment "without guaranteeing the provision of funds", and without the public debt being "certain, liquid and enforceable".
In a letter addressed to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, the Executive Branch says that there are still legal situations in the Law that warrant "a new review" by the Congress of the Republic.
It details that there was a violation of essential principles of the Magna Carta, such as principles of budgetary legality, fiscal sustainability and financial responsibility, transparency and legal certainty.
The process that follows
- The bill is returned to the plenary session of each chamber to review the project again in a single reading with the observations presented by the Executive.
- If both chambers approve the law again with two-thirds of the votes in favor, the legislation is enacted without changes.
- If Congress does not act on the observations within two ordinary legislative sessions, they are considered accepted.
This process requires technical and political collaboration to ensure that the future law is robust, fiscally viable, and offers a solution to the debts of contractors who have been waiting for a response for decades.
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