They delivered a letter to President Luis Abinader requesting the immediate payment of the state debt.
SANTO DOMINGO– A group of engineers to whom the Dominican State owes RD$385 million since 1996, yesterday asked the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, to intervene to ensure payment, considering that the president is the only one who can help them resolve the situation.
In a letter addressed to the president, they said they understood that "the government requires clean policies that attract foreign investment for the good of all, avoiding embarrassments like the one we are expressing in this communication.".
They explain that “given so many promises and attempts to mediate the payment of our debts, we have concluded that President Luis Abinader Corona is the only person who, through a presidential or executive order, can and should authorize the payment for those works that we have carried out and that have not yet been paid for,” the professionals say in a letter they delivered yesterday to the president, taking advantage of the president's presence at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD).
The group of 107 professionals and small construction companies, members of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA), are claiming a debt accumulated by various governments since 1996, for work (construction contracts) carried out but not paid for.
“An abuse of power has been committed against us and continues to be committed; furthermore, the Constitution of the Republic is being violated; because despite our claims, the governments and their officials have allowed them to become outdated. The State is unique and continuous; our Constitution is clear and specific and clearly states in its Article 38, 'on human dignity',” the plaintiffs stated.
In the letter to President Abinader, dated February 19, 2024, the construction professionals assert that the Dominican State “has committed an act of violence against them” and that their only transgression has been fulfilling their contractual obligations to the State. “And you, as the State administrator, in assuming this sacred commitment, assumed its assets and liabilities.”.
They said that the State is founded on respect for human dignity “which is sacred, innate and inviolable. Its respect and protection constitute an essential responsibility of public authorities.”.
They cited article 57 on the protection of the elderly, arguing that non-payment violates the Labor Code regarding work performed but not paid.
“Law 340-06 on Public Procurement is also being violated, as is Article 1134 of the Civil Code, which states that a contract is binding between the parties if it does not violate the established legal framework. Furthermore, Mr. President, this has become an act of violence against 302 engineers, against 302 families, and against an entire class, and this borders on abuse of power,” they stated.
Other violations
The group of engineers has established that the non-payment procedure violates Law 3143 "on work performed and not paid for" and Law 340-06 "on purchases and contracts", and Article 1134 of the Civil Code and the Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice, which ratifies that Article 1134 of the Dominican Civil Code provides that: "Legally formed agreements have the force of law for those who have agreed to them. They cannot be revoked except by mutual consent.".
“It is worth adding that the failure to pay these debts has led many construction professionals to die in poverty, having mortgaged what is most sacred to a family, their home, in many cases, and to suicide in others, in order to pay a State that ultimately abandons them to their fate,” the plaintiffs argue.
The debt that the government maintains with the group of contractors for works that were contracted, executed, supervised and put into service throughout the national territory, dates back to 1996 and includes the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), Ministry of Housing and Buildings (MIVED), Central Electoral Board (JCE), National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), among other government entities.
The letter is signed by a group of members of the Codiano Institutional Committee (CIC) and the Collections Board (MC), including Anibal Rincón, Ovidio Rosario, Emiliano Familia, Nelson Núñez, Samuel Peña, Héctor Risik; it has a copy addressed to Vice President Raquel Peña and First Lady Raquel Arbaje.
