The Penal Code is on the line and unless President Luis Abinader calls an extraordinary legislative session, it would have a chance of being approved in the current four-year term, agreed this morning the spokesman for the Senate bloc of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Yván Lorenzo, and the deputy of the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP), Hamlet Melo.
They also criticized the government’s haste in having the initiative approved by the current Congress.
«I think that the Penal Code is on the ropes, they asked for a 6-day period, it was yesterday, the deadline expires two days before the end of the legislature, unless the President calls an extraordinary session, it would be up to the new legislators to hear that piece, which is what the government of Luis Abinader does not want because they are acting irresponsibly and they want to share the responsibility with some legislators from opposition benches who did not follow the line of their party. As is our case where there are deputies who did not follow the line of the PLD because they have linked the issue to religious matters,” he said.
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He added that “I doubt that the bill will be known with two days left before the end of the legislature, because when the six-day period granted to the Special Commission studying the bill expires, it will be July 24, two days before the end of this legislature.”
Hamlet Melo
For his part, the deputy of the Fuerza del Pueblo for the province of La Altagracia, Hamlet Melo, considered that the ideal would be for the Executive Branch to call an extraordinary legislative session so that the commission can discuss the initiative calmly.
At the same time, he criticized the speed with which the Code was passed after 20 years of wandering around the National Congress.
“This is an important piece. The Fuerza del Pueblo wants a Penal Code, but what is the rush? In fact, the Code is not valid now, it has one more term left, so if we want to make a Code as society needs it, we must do it without rushing. Obviously, we want to approve it with the opposition parties, that is the intention,” he said.
Lila Alburquerque
Meanwhile, the reformist deputy Rafaela Alburquerque said that she does not see the political will to sanction the bill in this legislature.
“Should I tell you what I see? There is no Code; we stick with the one that is there. That is what I see,” he said.
Magda Rodriguez
The president of the Gender Commission of the Lower House, Magda Rodríguez, stated that “if the Government wants to approve a code, it can call an extraordinary legislative session or we can work as long as necessary.”
The deadline
The Chamber of Deputies approved on Thursday the extension of the 6-day deadline requested by the special commission studying the project. However, it must submit a report no later than Wednesday, two days before the end of the current legislative session. If approved, it will go to the Senate.
