SANTO DOMINGO – After five days of intensive deliberations, a bicameral congressional commission has greenlit the 2026 budget framework, notably excluding the historically mandated salary indexing mechanism that adjusts wages for inflation. This controversial decision has ignited immediate backlash from opposition leaders who contend it erodes worker purchasing power and violates established fiscal regulations.
The commission’s president, Francisco Javier Paulino, verified that the current budget proposal contains a specific clause suspending obligatory discussions on wage adjustments. Vice-Chair Senator Pedro Tineo elaborated that despite considerable public discourse, no political bloc formally presented a motion addressing salary indexing during committee sessions, leading to the report’s approval through majority consensus.
Opposition legislators mounted swift resistance to the omission. PLD representative Charlie Mariotti declared intentions to contest the decision during upcoming full chamber debates and threatened constitutional litigation against the budget legislation. Mariotti asserted that eliminating salary indexing constitutes both a violation of worker rights and a breach of the nation’s tax code, which has mandated inflation-adjusted wages since 1992.
Senator Edward Espiritusanto of Fuerza del Pueblo simultaneously criticized the budget’s disproportionate emphasis on operational expenditures, characterizing its investment allocations as fundamentally inadequate. His party has pledged to oppose final ratification.
The proposed budget, amounting to RD$1.744 trillion (approximately 20.1% of GDP), now advances to both legislative chambers for decisive voting. This exclusion of inflation-based salary adjustments is poised to trigger extensive debates regarding economic equity and statutory compliance, potentially reshaping public confidence in the nation’s fiscal governance structures.