200 Weddings A Day / Many Illegal/Invalid??

Here is the article in Spanish. En Punta Cana se realizaban hasta 200 bodas de extranjeros en un día - DiarioLibre.com

It was just published February 11, 2008 ... and discusses problems with the wedding system in the DR.

I'm hoping someone can translate this article better than I did. I don't speak/read Spanish... so this is what I got from Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL International

SD. The mafia that organized the celebration of anniversaries to foreign citizens that arrived in tourist packages to hotel complexes of Gray Tip, performed to 200 nuptials in a single day, generating benefits for more than a million pesos in less than 24 hours.

The preliminary results of the investigations carried out by the departments of Inspectoría and Security of the Electoral Central Meeting (JCE), with the aid of the National Direction of Investigations (ID), they reveal that employed of the Meeting in Higüey they caused they passed for civil officials during years, deceiving to thousands of tourists with the celebration of illegitimate anniversaries, that do not appear in the registrations of the JCE.

Yesterday, the president of the Administrative Camera of the JCE, Roberto Rosary, reported that the court will seek an exit to many of the cases of foreigners that were believed married in the country, but that they were swindled with anniversaries "in the air" by the false civil officials.

"For me what is important is that already that is not possible, that that is resolved, and that besides there be a relation of contribution with the hotels and the Meeting, an agreement that permit the establishment of a system on line of information", commented.

And a February 8, 2008 article.

En Punta Cana se realizaban hasta 200 bodas de extranjeros en un día - DiarioLibre.com

SD. The Electoral Central Meeting (JCE) attributed to the operation of a mafia that acted in complicity with hotel installations of Gray Tip, the celebration of massive anniversaries to foreign citizens, which they were carried out to the margin of the court and that were offered inside tourist packages.

The judge president of the Administrative Camera of the JCE, Roberto Rosary, reported that the court requested the aid of the National Department of Investigations (ID) to capture to the "false civil officials" that operated from Higüey, and that according to preliminary data, they acted out of the law for various years.

The ID carried out between the months of December and January a lifting of intelligence in all the zone of Higüey and delivered to the electoral court a confidential report where they are identified to three presumed ringleaders of the mafia that caused they passed for civil officials and that emitted false documents of anniversaries and birth certificates.

DL published yesterday that in recent months in tourist centers of Gray Tip, province The Altagracia, 30 requests of anniversaries by the lack of civil officials had been rejected, and that at least 20 British citizens that would have contracted nuptials demanded the delivery of the certificates, some of which they date from the year 2004.

Rosary admitted that in Gray Tip anniversaries were celebrated in a fraudulent way that have caused certificates emission demand on behalf of foreigners that were swindled.

It reported that last January 29 was created a new one oficialía in Verón, Higüey, and was appointed a civil official that is installed in a localities that rented the JCE in the avenue Spain, Plaza Trunk shopping center, second level, in the sector Riusa, Bavarian.

Without control

The holder of the CA explained that to the past month from October the Meeting did not have the control of the 104 oficialías civil, situation that facilitated the illicit actions.

"To the day of today we are expecting of the ID the transfer of several people toward that zone, because occurs that after those anniversaries were carried out there was a series of demands to the Meeting so that to emit a certificate of marriage of an activity that had not done. That is to say that around Higüey what there is is an extensive investigation where they are involved the departments of investigation of the State", declared.

It added that as a result of the discovery of the mafia also was canceled to a good part of the personnel of the Meeting in the zone.

Defense

The holder of the Administrative Camera of the JCE rejected that they be dilapidadores of the resources of the Been by to have called to public contest to buy 32 electric plants, 740 escaners and teams of computers to use them in the electoral process. Rosary complained that media, that did not identify, they accuse the CA to buy unnecessary teams.

For oficialías

The old manual machines to write that still are used in scores of oficialías civil of the country, they will be substituted by modern computers after they are used in the electoral process that will culminate the 16 May, was reported yesterday in the JCE.

Publicity

The CA called to a public meeting with six advertising businesses, that already they were accredited in a formal way before the court, to produce the educational and motivational publicity that will be divulged during all the electoral process. Rosary said that the placement in the radio, television and media writings the own Meeting will do it to save resources. Itself not the total was established that will invest in publicity.

- Leoncio Comprés

Basically the articles say that a lot of people were fradulently holding themselves out to be civil officiants and they weren't. By the time people got home and tried to make their wedding valid, they realized that their marriage was never registered with the Dominican government. Yikes!

I wonder what brides are supposed to do to ensure that the person marrying them is legit and not a fake.

Very interesting article. This is why it's VERY importatnt to investigate and get lots of answers in writing before confirming / booking your wedding in another country.

Symbolic ceremony is looking better everyday! Thanks for sharing. (You always find the best info! :~) With this kind of info, I defitenly think symbolic is now the way to go!