NewsWhore
02-01-2007, 06:20 PM
The fact that magistrate Aura Celeste Fernandez (no relation to President Leonel Fernandez) has four government jobs is apparently supplying grist to the nasty rumor mill. Last Friday the magistrate, who is in charge of the disputes chamber at the JCE criticized the fact that entire families held jobs in certain Central Electoral Board (JCE) departments. She was also critical of the RD$66,000 "incentive" that is added to judges' salaries. Lawyer Fernandez was appointed to a seat on the Central Electoral Board in November, and apparently, according to Listin Diario, her multiple functions are being used to get back at her. Fernandez is currently the director of the National School for Prosecutors, the president of the Health Bioethics Commission and a member of the select team of jurists overseeing the constitutional reform program. Her critics are saying that all these functions are unethical and violate the law. When reporters from the newspaper approached Fernandez, she informed them that the other three jobs were indeed hers, but she was no longer drawing salaries for them and would be resigning in February in order to devote all her time to the JCE. The eminent jurist told the reporters that her recent appointment to the JCE did not give her enough time to finish some important work at the other three institutions, and she did "not want to leave things half-finished."
Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena said that Fernandez had resigned from her post at the prosecutors' school but was staying on to tie up loose ends at his request. He praised her work at the school, saying that she had raised students' professional levels to the highest standards of efficiency.
Former JCE judge Sully Bonelly explained that the RD$66,000 incentive for JCE judges was added on through a resolution during the administration that was appointed in 1998, which replaced the board of judges on which he and Aura Celeste Fernandez first served. The members of that board were Manuel Ramon Morel Cerda, Luis Arias, Ana Teresa Perez, Luis Ramon Cordero and Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman (the current JCE president).
Fernandez on last Friday explained that she declined the incentive because she understands it to be against the law, as it was created to compensate the judges for income tax and pension fund deductions. The JCE wages amount to RD$225,000 a month, plus the RD$66,000 incentive, RD$35,000 in per diem, plus other benefits such as a vehicle.
JCE president Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman said that he would ask the Chamber of Accounts, the government auditing office, for their expert opinion on the legality of the incentive.
In an editorial column, Diario Libre comments today that while Aura Celeste may be "impulsive, direct and to the point, it is because she is honest, a quality that is very rare among the men and women serving in office, and she is a woman of proven moral convictions." The newspaper further describes her as a "pure woman, decent, sweet, respectful and with integrity, for the good of the country, like it or not. If only everyone in every government office was like Aura Celeste."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena said that Fernandez had resigned from her post at the prosecutors' school but was staying on to tie up loose ends at his request. He praised her work at the school, saying that she had raised students' professional levels to the highest standards of efficiency.
Former JCE judge Sully Bonelly explained that the RD$66,000 incentive for JCE judges was added on through a resolution during the administration that was appointed in 1998, which replaced the board of judges on which he and Aura Celeste Fernandez first served. The members of that board were Manuel Ramon Morel Cerda, Luis Arias, Ana Teresa Perez, Luis Ramon Cordero and Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman (the current JCE president).
Fernandez on last Friday explained that she declined the incentive because she understands it to be against the law, as it was created to compensate the judges for income tax and pension fund deductions. The JCE wages amount to RD$225,000 a month, plus the RD$66,000 incentive, RD$35,000 in per diem, plus other benefits such as a vehicle.
JCE president Julio Cesar Castanos Guzman said that he would ask the Chamber of Accounts, the government auditing office, for their expert opinion on the legality of the incentive.
In an editorial column, Diario Libre comments today that while Aura Celeste may be "impulsive, direct and to the point, it is because she is honest, a quality that is very rare among the men and women serving in office, and she is a woman of proven moral convictions." The newspaper further describes her as a "pure woman, decent, sweet, respectful and with integrity, for the good of the country, like it or not. If only everyone in every government office was like Aura Celeste."
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)