Santo Domingo.- Following the approval in the second reading of the bill that modifies the Penal Code of the Dominican Republic, the spokesperson for the Fuerza del Pueblo deputies’ bloc, Rafael Castillo, justified his caucus’s vote against it by asserting that the text adopted by the Chamber of Deputies responds, for the most part, to the observations submitted by the Executive Branch.
“95% of the modifications were negative. All of that is what the Executive Branch has sent. No legislator from the ruling party had the capacity to move a comma that was not what they wanted,” Castillo expressed upon concluding the session.
The legislator also questioned that, as he stated, the proposals presented by the opposition and by different sectors of society were not accepted. “It is regrettable that the Chamber of Deputies has become a rubber stamp for the Executive Branch,” he maintained, indicating that the People’s Force favors a new Penal Code, but not one that, in his view, could be declared unconstitutional.
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The statements were offered after the Chamber of Deputies approved the bill with 120 votes in favor and 17 against, during an extraordinary session. During the day, 14 new amendment proposals were presented, of which eight were accepted and six were rejected.
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With this approval, the initiative moves to the Senate of the Republic to continue its legislative process. If sanctioned by the Upper House and enacted by the Executive Branch, the reform will enter into force together with Law 74-25, which establishes the Penal Code of the Dominican Republic.
