Security specialist Carolina Ramirez
The bill, which obliges those who wish to stay in motels or cabins in the country to present their identity and electoral cards, violates the rights of the people protected in the Dominican Constitution. For this reason, if approved, it could be annulled by the Constitutional Court.
This was noted by Carolina Ramirez, a security specialist, who indicated that the same “violates article 44 (of the Constitution) and many others, related to the right to privacy, intimacy, honor and the good name of the people.”
Ramirez explained that it is unnecessary to approve the bill presented by Deputy Luis Henriquez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) since such establishments are governed under a security protocol.
“The associations of these types of businesses, have specific guidelines and take registration of the license plate and have a direct number to notify in case there is an irregular situation. In the case of vehicles that enter without a license plate, they also have a protocol to keep the video of entry and exit and notify the authorities,” she said.
Ramirez further explained that the authorities had solved the criminal cases that have occurred so far in such lodgings, so “the protocol that exists since 2000, is more than enough, from the point of view of public safety.”
It should be noted that the representative of Santo Domingo East in the lower house said that these places are used as free zones for crime because they do not ask for identification.
“We do this to discourage delinquency. It is not acceptable that in our country cabins and motels are used to rape children, to traffic drugs, to kidnap people and for criminals to hide,” said the official.
The bill also indicates that in cases of an establishment’s failure to acquire identification, the cabin may be sanctioned with a three-month closing and a fine of 50 minimum wages.
The bill has the support of 22 legislators of the various parties represented in the National Congress.