Senate president apologizes

[NewsWhore]

Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez has admitted that he might have been too hard on Chamber of Deputies president Julio Cesar Valentin after Valentin and other deputies accused senators of sponsoring lucrative and illegal non-governmental organizations. Pared said he apologized not because President Leonel Fernandez had told him to, but because it was sensible to do so. Although the Senate president's sudden change to a less combative mode comes after Diario Libre investigative reporters found that at least two senators, two deputies and several other government officials have close ties with NGOs. For example, Monte Plata Senator Charlie Mariotti is registered as the representative of Alimenta 2000 and Juventud 2000 that were assigned RD$480,000 according to the National Planning and Personnel Office (ONAPLAN). Senator Diego Aquino is the principal officer of the Centro de Desarrollo Integral, with a stipend of RD$300,000. Pared defended the NGOs and said that the funds that were allocated to those phantom NGOs would be transferred to a special fund to benefit several reputable organizations.

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