SANTO DOMINGO.- The lack of compliance with the Law on the Declaration of Public Assets has become a mockery that forces the competent authorities to act and subject everyone to the rule of law, applying the corresponding regime of consequences, Citizen Participation stated this Monday.
“Citizen Participation and all citizens are witnesses, once again, to the apathy and laziness of the majority of public officials in fulfilling their obligation to declare their assets within the period established by Law No. 311-14, which establishes the authorized and uniform national system of sworn declaration of assets of public officials and servants,” the organization said in a statement.
He said that, with the 30-day period established by law having expired, it is unacceptable that the vast majority of public officials have not submitted their declaration, “including legislators who should be the first to set an example of compliance with the laws voted for by themselves.” He said that this is especially serious when they knew, since their election on May 16, that they would have to submit it, so they have had not only 30 days, but 120 days.
He said that some legislators have asked for an extension of the deadline for submission, which reveals their ignorance of the law. He stressed that this is a deadline set by law, which cannot be extended by the Chamber of Accounts, as it would imply a violation of the law.
He explained that the regulations for the application of the law allow an extension of ten additional days, but only for those cases in which the declaration has been submitted incompletely, so those who simply have not submitted it are not favored.
He added that the law provides that if the declaration is not submitted within the legal period but is submitted later, it must be classified as a “late declaration” and sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the cause of the delay.
«Declaring credit card transactions is not a requirement for filing the declaration. The law only requires declaring the cards held by the public official, the maximum authorized limit and the outstanding balance on the date of the declaration. If the Chamber of Accounts is requiring card transactions, it should correct this requirement,» he stressed.
He clarified that it is not mandatory to detail trips abroad, although it is necessary to submit a copy of the passport, a common requirement when applying for a visa at the consulates of various countries, so it should not be a source of conflict.
Citizen Participation stated that the law requires the identification of siblings and parents, but not the identification of the assets of these relatives, which is required for the spouse or partner in a free union if they are married by community of property, which is logical, since the public official is co-owner of the assets in the name of his partner. “It is not an excuse to have many siblings, since only their identification is requested, something that each person is presumed to know,” he said.
Citizen Participation called on the Chamber of Accounts and the director of the Office of Evaluation and Inspection of Public Officials’ Assets to publish on the Chamber of Accounts’ website the names of public officials who have complied with the mandate of the law, those who have done so outside the deadline, and those who have not submitted their reports.
He also asked the Chamber of Accounts to inform the public whether the legal obligation to send the corresponding cases to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and to the officials in charge of applying the sanction of withholding the salary until due compliance has been fulfilled, without renouncing the criminal actions provided for by the law in case of falsity of the information contained in the declaration.
“We request that the Directorate of Ethics and Government Integrity, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the President of the Republic, the presidents of the legislative chambers and the municipal authorities make the necessary effort to subject everyone to the rule of law. It is essential to apply the current regime of consequences, which should be modified to provide for the disqualification from holding public office of those who do not comply with the declaration.”
