Head of little-understood government post finally gets an office

Santo Domingo.- Nearly three months after Congress tapped her as Ombudsman (citizen intercessor), Zoila Martinez on Wednesday said a site to install her office had been found , and thanked all the citizens who offered their homes so she could carry out her duties for the public good.

She said the office is located on Henríquez Ureña Av. corner Rosa Duarte St, in Gazcue, but notes that it’s a house that will have to be remodeled so it can function as the Ombudsman’s office.

Abusing her age

Interviewed on a morning radio program, the former National District Prosecutor said by accepting the post, she’s “abusing my age,” because she’s 72.

Martinez added that Ombudsman isn’t an easy task, since it’s a new concept in the country.

The post, when first proposed by former president Leonel Fernandez during his first term (1996-2000), was met with wide rebuke by sectors who called it just another government post in a country full of “botellas” (bottles), the popular name for officials who get a big paycheck but serve no purpose.