Danilo Medina says he did not go to the government to do business.

The president of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and former president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina , reacted this Thursday to the agreement between his brother-in-law, Maxy Montilla, and the Public Ministry, while defending his honorability during his time in office.

Regarding Maxy Montilla, who agreed to return more than 3 billion pesos as part of the resolution of the alleged corruption case, Medina said he never had a political, economic, or labor relationship with him and that their only relationship is that he is his wife's half-brother (his brother-in-law).

Medina stated, in a telephone interview on the radio program El Sol de la Mañana, that he did not go to the Government to do business , but rather he went to the State to serve, adding that he dedicated himself body and soul to serving in every way.

"I didn't go to the government to do business, that's the first thing. I didn't interfere in the allocation of a single government project, not a single one. You can call the Minister of Public Works and those who allocated projects; if I ever asked them to give a project to an official, they didn't ask anyone," he emphasized.

The former president stated that he did not interfere in the allocation of projects and that this was the responsibility of the officials who ran their respective institutions.

"Not family, not friends, not anyone. Because if I didn't ask for it for myself , why would I have to ask for it for someone else? I never did it, never ever, because I was a servant, I am a man of integrity," he considered.

Medina emphasized that he worked solely and exclusively to serve the people, which is why he even spoke of regretting holding public office .

"And I regret returning to public office, because you do things by the rules and submit to anyone, without any conditions, questioning your name in the public eye," he lamented.

Medina said he served the country at such a high level that when he came to power, schools were being assigned in batches, and he decided to use public lotteries so that all engineers would have the opportunity to work on a public project.

"There was never any discussion with me about who was doing business and who wasn't. Anyone can believe that, but any official in my government can attest to that. And that's why I defend the honorability of these officials until there's a definitive ruling that proves otherwise," he emphasized.

The Public Ministry reported this Tuesday that it reached a judicial agreement in which Maxy Montilla and his companies accepted criminal liability and agreed to pay more than 3 billion pesos as part of the resolution of the alleged corruption case.

When asked about this agreement, Medina said he only learned about it after his brother-in-law informed him after a visit.

Medina stated that he told Maxy Montilla that although he managed to stop the persecution against him, he said that he shouldn't have reached that agreement because by doing so he has compromised his honor.

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