Ruling party lawmakers lead records of absences and excuses in the National Congress
The National Congress of the Dominican Republic is once again facing a debate over legislative responsibility, after it was revealed that congressmen from the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) and its allied forces lead the lists of absences and excuses in sessions. This scenario is particularly notable given that the ruling party holds a dominant majority, controlling 146 of the 190 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 28 of the 32 positions in the Senate.
Although the internal regulations of both chambers stipulate mandatory attendance at sessions and committee meetings as a fundamental duty, the records reflect a marked trend of absenteeism. Following the ruling party bench, the Fuerza del Pueblo (FP) and Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) blocs also show significant figures of absences and justifications submitted to the legislative secretariats.
Deputies with the highest records of absences
In the Lower House, several legislators have accumulated unjustified absences, with the following names standing out:
- Carlos José Gil Rodríguez and Llanelis Matos Cuevas: 6 absences each.
- Carlos Morillo Valdez: 4 absences.
- Sergio Moya de la Cruz and Aquiles Ledesma Alcántara: 3 absences each.
- Wandy Batista Gómez and Orlando Martínez Peña: 2 absences each.
The disciplinary regime regarding absenteeism
The Chamber of Deputies Regulations have clear mechanisms to address absenteeism. According to article 59, unjustified absences can be referred to the Investigative Commission for investigation, while article 226 stipulates that accumulating three unjustified absences leads to a direct referral to the Disciplinary Council.
The stipulated sanctions include the suspension of per diems, private reprimands, public censure, and disqualification from representing the legislative body at official events. Despite the robustness of these rules, to date, no sanctions have been reported against congresspeople who have failed to fulfill their attendance duties.
Current regulations allow for cases to be reviewed by the Disciplinary Council starting from the fourth consecutive excuse, a process that seeks to ensure that the legislative agenda is not affected by the repeated absence of its members.
Outlook in the Senate of the Republic
In the Upper House, the dynamic is similar, prioritizing the registration of excuses. Among the senators who have resorted to this mechanism the most are:
- Félix R. Bautista Rosario (11 excuses)
- Héctor E. Acosta Restituyo (10 excuses)
- Ginette Altagracia Bournigal (8 excuses)
- Bernardo Alemán Rodríguez (7 excuses)
- Gustavo Lara Salazar, Franklin M. Romero Morillo and Antonio Taveras Guzmán (6 excuses each)
The Senate regulations provide that, in the event of prolonged repeated excuses, the Senate Presidency may authorize the Permanent Ethics Committee and the Disciplinary Council to verify the validity of the reasons presented. However, as in the Chamber of Deputies, no disciplinary actions have been formalized for this reason, leaving open the discussion regarding the fulfillment of the legislators’ duty in the face of the intense work agenda that the country requires.
