The Attorney General Miriam German Yesterday, he highlighted as one of his great achievements in the institution that he will leave on August 16, having steered the prosecution body back towards the path of legality and transparency, and imprinting it with the imprint of adherence to due process and fundamental rights, “without giving in to the pressure of sectors that understand that justice is a game of individual interests and not a sacred vocation.”
During the presentation of the memoirs of his four years of management as head of the Public ministrysaid that highlighting achievements, successful actions, milestones and transformations is undoubtedly important; but it is also important to point out the less positive aspects and the challenges that remain.
In this sense, he referred to all the obstacles he had to overcome, even within the institution, being The most difficult one is transparencyfor which he said, he had irreconcilable internal clashes.
“The courage I asked for was granted to me; the courage came to me when it was due. I neither won nor lost, I am just leaving in peace,” said the official before an auditorium full of officials, servants and special guests, at the Intercontinental Hotel in this capital.
His imprint
Germán recalled that the beginning of his administration at the head of the PGR “took place at a complex institutional moment, loaded with many questions that projected an organ lacking legitimacy and with ethical blemishes that resulted in processes still in progress…” He said that trying to transform a deep-rooted culture, which is natural to human beings, generates a lot of resistance.
She acknowledged that, however, she always found total willingness on the part of the team “to follow me on the adventure” without which nothing would have been possible.
“If anything has characterized me in these 4 years, it has been my ability to “let things be”; that is, to respect the wise authority of each prosecutor in his or her field of action, intervening only when there were valid reasons to do so,” and imposing his principles above all.
Achievements to highlight
Germán said his memoirs succinctly reflect “the long and rich journey, with its ups and downs” not only to serve the efforts of continuity, but as a legacy of integrity.
Transparency
He said that during his administration “the Public Prosecutor’s Office has become a benchmark for good administrative practices. He indicated that one of the main challenges that was taken on was to promote the administrative and operational reorganization of the institution, which resulted in improvements in the quality of spending, the purchasing and contracting processes, as well as budgetary controls.
He added that a more effective and secure procedure for the management of financial guarantees has been implemented, under the direct control of the prosecutor’s offices, so that people can recover their money without bureaucratic barriers.
Among the important anti-corruption operations prosecuted, he highlighted the following: Octopus, Coral, Coral 5G, Jellyfish and Squid cases.
Regarding organized crime, he stated that 18 provinces made significant progress in improving their homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants; and there was also a considerable reduction in the cumulative homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 2023.
In criminal matters of Children, Girls and Adolescents (NNA) reported that of 15,279 complaints received 6,659 coercive measures were imposed and 5,140 went to trial on the merits.
In civil matters, 331,936 cases of custody and guardianship of minors were handled.
Although she did not offer figures, she said that there had also been “significant progress” in the area of gender violence, with talks, training and other actions through projects by AECID, OAS and USAID.
In the area of Human Trafficking and Smuggling, 1,333 people were brought to justice.
Organized crime
Regarding this issue, the Attorney General said that in 2024 the first National Task Force was created to analyze and investigate transnational criminal acts; and “we set a record in the region in asset seizures and plea agreements in corruption cases.”
Other achievements
Judge Germán pointed out as achievements of her administration, the consideration as an act of torture and barbarism of the aggressions through the use of “devil’s acid””; the treatment of cases involving vulnerable populations; the protection of fundamental rights in areas of custody of persons deprived of liberty; and the guidelines for the criminal prosecution of crimes against the animal protection law.
Benefits to servers
He said that during his administration, the income and benefits of prosecutors were increased; the compensation policy; RD$800 million annually in benefits; medical coverage subsidy; salary readjustment for technical staff, and he left in progress the steps to obtain a Pension Plan.
He also said that by optimizing services in the period 2020-2024, he has raised the RD$5,300,184,086.39.
In the penitentiary system, 3,307 prisoners were taught to read and write; 14,180 are enrolled in basic education; 9,947 in secondary education; 16,810 are enrolled in higher education, and 9,302 are taking technical courses. 496 have graduated from university and 498 are taking specialization courses.
He said that in these 4 years, 44,190 members of the Public Ministry have also been impacted through various academic proposals offered by the National Higher Education Institute of the MP.
Things to improve
He pointed out that there are “too many things” that could be improved in the penitentiary system, and he mentioned medical care among them. He reported that agreements have been signed for the academic training of inmates in different areas; and also for the elderly. In relation to women, he also mentioned progress.
