SANTO DOMINGO. - The Dominican Anticorruption Alliance (ADOCCO) Thursday rebuked president Leonel Fernandez’s decree to urgently buy equipment to block cell phone signals in the penitentiaries as unnecessary, and asked the government to abide by the law instead.

ADOCCO coordinator Julio Cesar de la Rosa said the decree which designates the Dominican Telecom Institute acquire the equipment and facilitate the provision is unnecessary because in his view it suffices to adhere to the Public Purchases and Contracts Law 340-06.

He said Fernandez cannot be taken citizen security as pretext to issue the decree, which states: “For reasons of national security, acquisition and installation of equipment that serves to block the signals sent and received by mobile telephone devices and data terminals in the penitentiary centers in the Dominican Republic is declared an emergency.”

The ADOCO spokesman asked the president to implement the recommendations from the Anti-corruption Participating Initiative Seminar, which proposed the strict adherence of Law 340-06 and which the government pledged to respect.