NewsWhore
12-14-2010, 03:40 PM
In what may well have been a response to yesterday's large demonstration outside the National Congress building, the Chamber of Deputies sent the 2011 budget proposal back to the joint commission, accepting a suggestion from Ramon Rogelio Genao and Pelegrin Castillo and an obvious division among the PLD deputies who seconded the motion, going against the party line.
Diario Libre reports that the vote to send the legislation back to the commission was 87 in favor and 86 against. The session was held against a backdrop of the mass protest organized by the Coalition of Organizations for a Dignified Education outside the National Congress, who celebrated when the decision was announced. The PLD deputies who voted for the budget proposal to be returned to the commission were Radhames Camacho, Ysabel de la Cruz, Minou Tavarez, Ricardo Contreras and Eduardo Hidalgo. Karem Ricardo did not vote. Deputies Juan Compres, Elias Serulle, Francisco Matos, Rafael Abel and Magda Rodriguez were listed as present but were outside the chamber. The deputies began their session at 4:40 in the afternoon and adjourned at 8:45 last night.
All the PRD deputies wore baseball caps and held small flags and yellow umbrellas calling for 4% of the GDP to be allocated towards education. They said the Budget proposal should not even be debated on the grounds that it violated the Constitution and Law 66-97 on Education. A motion presented by Cristian Paredes was rejected and the debates on the Budget proposal got under way and more than 40 deputies asked to speak in these debates.
Demagoguery was not lacking in some of the discourse, such as that of the spokesman for the PRSC, Ramon Rogelio Genao, who announced that his party "withdrew from evil government and moved itself to the people's side in their struggle for 4% for Education". At the same time, PRD spokesman Nelson Arroyo suggested the elimination of the "special payrolls", the reduction by 61.5% of the resources for the second Metro line, the elimination of the over-pricing of state projects and a reduction of RD$500 million in patronage, no-show jobs known as "botellas".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
Diario Libre reports that the vote to send the legislation back to the commission was 87 in favor and 86 against. The session was held against a backdrop of the mass protest organized by the Coalition of Organizations for a Dignified Education outside the National Congress, who celebrated when the decision was announced. The PLD deputies who voted for the budget proposal to be returned to the commission were Radhames Camacho, Ysabel de la Cruz, Minou Tavarez, Ricardo Contreras and Eduardo Hidalgo. Karem Ricardo did not vote. Deputies Juan Compres, Elias Serulle, Francisco Matos, Rafael Abel and Magda Rodriguez were listed as present but were outside the chamber. The deputies began their session at 4:40 in the afternoon and adjourned at 8:45 last night.
All the PRD deputies wore baseball caps and held small flags and yellow umbrellas calling for 4% of the GDP to be allocated towards education. They said the Budget proposal should not even be debated on the grounds that it violated the Constitution and Law 66-97 on Education. A motion presented by Cristian Paredes was rejected and the debates on the Budget proposal got under way and more than 40 deputies asked to speak in these debates.
Demagoguery was not lacking in some of the discourse, such as that of the spokesman for the PRSC, Ramon Rogelio Genao, who announced that his party "withdrew from evil government and moved itself to the people's side in their struggle for 4% for Education". At the same time, PRD spokesman Nelson Arroyo suggested the elimination of the "special payrolls", the reduction by 61.5% of the resources for the second Metro line, the elimination of the over-pricing of state projects and a reduction of RD$500 million in patronage, no-show jobs known as "botellas".
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)