Santo Domingo.- The deputy Jose Ricardo Taveras revealed Friday that some legislators insist on approving the sale of nearly 14 million square meters of government lands in eastern Monte Plata province to the family Rizek Llabaly, despite the denounced bribes.

“Right now there’s a serious denunciation by the deputy Juan Quiñones, of Puerto Plata, that there’s corruption in that bill because deputies were being paid off. I don’t have the proof to say there’s payment of bribes, but I believe the logical thing for transparency is to order an investigation,” he said.

“To what extent can a Government institution, which is the Congress can insist on approving a contract after such a concrete denunciation and by a deputy who’s prepared to argue it,” the deputy added.

Interviewed on Telesistema Channel 11, the pro-government FNP party legislator asked president Leonel Fernandez to draft a plan through which government lands can be sold in a reasonable manner, so their original proprietors can recover them.

The deadlock over the controversial land sale for RD$36 million forced Chamber of Deputies president Julio Cesar Valentin to suspend Tuesday’s session, and regretted that despite the ruling PLD party’s majority, its lawmakers can’t agree on the initiative, which he sent to a special commission for study.