SANTO DOMINGO. - Corrupción Prevention Department  (DPCA) director  Octavio Líster said it was the Justice Ministry’s decision to drop the charges against government official Angel Lockward, charged with malfeasance in the distribution of coupons for Liquefied Petroleum Gas when he was Industry and Commerce minister.

Líster, who defined himself as “a soldier” of the Justice Ministry, said he was pulled from the case. “What we are doing, for respect and discipline, is pure and simply abstaining from taking part in any way from litigating because our power was already cancelled.”

He recognized however that the Justice Ministry’s decision  could have “many readings” regarding the war against corruption. “This, evidently, could have many readings, I simply want to give it one: we’ve been pulled from the case. At the behest of the Justice Minister, it was his requirement.”

Lister said he doesn’t know the reasons for dropping the charges against Lockward and not the other defendants, “but apparently he’s the only one that requested it.”

He said there’ll be a hearing for the other defendants in the case May 19 and the court will have to rule on Lockward’s situation. “Now, I wouldn’t want to comment on it, and excuse me because we are soldiers of the Justice Ministry and what we want is to do things according to the laws and the Constitution, we have done so with the established procedures and we’ll continue doing so during the days we have left in the DPCA.”