Senator wants “double” pensions stripped; many officials sure to cower

Santo Domingo.- Ruling PLD party senator Tommy Galan on Monday said all current senior officials should refund the money they’ve received through government pensions, just two days after president Danilo Medina fired General Comptroller Haivanjoe Ng for a self assigned pension of more than RD$600,000 monthly.

The lawmaker’s suggestion will likely create panic among many current officials who’ve been “quietly” collection government pensions in addition to their salary, which despite unclear legislation, its ban has gained foothold in a transparency-hungry country during the last few years.

He said both the new Comptroller Rafael Andujar as well as Pensions Superintendent Joaquin Geronimo should establish mechanisms to cross the information and determine who’s getting both a salary and a pension, which he called “double compensation.”

The senator for San Cristobal said in those cases, "the corresponding payments will be automatically and immediately suspended," and called the President’s decree banning the use of taxpayers’ money to pay pensions “very wise.”