Julio César De la Rosa Tiburcio. (Photo: ADOCCO)
Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Alliance Against Corruption (ADOCCO) has strongly rejected a threat of a defamation lawsuit from the government’s Ethics Director, Milagros Ortiz Bosch, and accused her of using the justice system to halt corruption investigations.
ADOCCO and its president, Julio César De la Rosa Tiburcio, vowed on Wednesday to continue their work, saying they view the threat as an attempt to silence the organization. The dispute stems from ADOCCO’s formal accusation that Ortiz Bosch committed official misconduct (prevaricación) by dismissing a complaint against former Minister of Education Ángel Hernández.
The organization announced it is immediately seeking precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to prevent any abuse of power given the influence of the official involved.
The concealed-asset scandal
ADOCCO’s initial complaint, filed in October 2023, accuses former Minister Hernández of omitting and concealing a major family asset in his sworn financial disclosure.
The alleged omission concerns Constructora Playa Morón, a for-profit family company registered by Hernández months before his appointment. The company, owned by his wife and daughter, later purchased a large parcel of land in Las Terrenas, Samaná, for RD$31,095,000.00 — an asset ADOCCO estimates is worth more than US$4 million.
The anti-corruption watchdog emphasized that Hernández was legally obligated to declare all assets and liabilities belonging to his marital community under Law 311-14. ADOCCO argues that the failure to do so constitutes a violation that could trigger the application of the Money-Laundering Law (Law No. 155-17).
Despite the allegations, the ethics office (DIGEIG), headed by Ortiz Bosch, ordered the complaint to be archived on September 1. In response, ADOCCO immediately filed a criminal complaint with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (PEPCA).
A defiant stance against intimidation
Responding to the lawsuit threat, ADOCCO said it would be ready to face any legal action. “The attempt to intimidate us with a publicly announced response will not succeed,” ADOCCO said. “We will face any lawsuit with the same responsibility with which we filed the misconduct accusation.”
ADOCCO stressed that the legal move is meant to deter the organization from exposing and denouncing irregularities by public servants. The group has formally requested that the Public Ministry accept the criminal complaint against Hernández and identify all individuals who allegedly participated in the illegal acts.
