Friday
Friday 14th February 2025.
February 13, 2025
The Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) responded to the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , who accused them of being complicit in the protests and violent acts carried out by members of the National Union of
“Capac is committed to the development of the country, respect for institutions and the progress of Panama. Neither today nor ever have we been complicit in the actions of the National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (Suntracs) who act with total autonomy and independence,” the union of the construction sector responded.
President Mulino said on Thursday morning that Capac did not cooperate with the call made by the government to intercede with Acciona, the company that is building the children’s hospital.
“I also call on Capac to stop being accomplices through a collective agreement that was not created for this purpose. Capac did not cooperate yesterday in the little thing we asked of it, which was to ask Acciona for a letter so that the police could enter the hospital . Well, MINSA did it and the police entered and the results are already known,” said the president.
In response to these statements, Capac expressed its strongest rejection of the acts of violence and vandalism that occurred yesterday, February 12, 2025, resulting from a protest related to the discussion of reforms to the organic law of the Social Security Fund.
“It is completely unacceptable that, under the pretext of a legitimate demonstration, actions were carried out that threatened the physical integrity of National Police officers, who, in their duty to maintain order and security, suffered direct attacks.”
The union urged the relevant authorities to investigate the incident and take the necessary measures to ensure that situations like this do not happen again.
“We congratulate the National Police for their firm and efficient actions in this case, acting with determination in the national interest. Their intervention has been key to restoring order and guaranteeing free transit as a constitutional right of citizens,” the union said.
Mauricio Claver-Carone , Trump’s special envoy for Latin America, referred again to the Panama Canal . He insisted that Panama violates the agreement on the neutrality of the maritime route because all the infrastructure has been penetrated by Chinese entities.
He said the canal is becoming obsolete due to the “inefficiency” of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in its maintenance and said that Panamanians have asked the US Army Corps of Engineers for help to make it efficient, but they want to charge for it.
In a wide-ranging interview with Politico magazine , which focused on the Trump administration’s handling of the Western Hemisphere, the official said the main sticking point “is the treaty violation by China’s absolute intrusion into the Panama Canal and the logistics and infrastructure around it.”
Panama has repeatedly said that it is false that China controls the interoceanic route, but Claver-Carone maintains that “that is, ultimately, the essence of the matter.”
Asked whether it was necessary to modify the Canal Neutrality Treaty, he said no, adding that “there have been conversations and good debates.”
He then spoke of private meetings on the Canal. “I don’t understand why there has to be a private discussion. We are super transparent. The current government of Panama… I don’t know how they are used to operating. But President Trump says in public what he says in private,” he said.
He then reiterated that the Canal “is becoming obsolete” due to the ACP’s inefficiency in its maintenance.
“From the first Trump administration, when I was in the White House, they reached out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to ask for our help, because they knew the challenges that were coming,” he added.
He said low water levels have affected operations in recent years, and “however, volume and capacity continue to decline. Now they are asking us for help, but they want to charge us for it. Basically, they want firefighters to pay for putting out fires.”
“They want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. to help make the Panama Canal great again, which is what President Trump wants. But they want to charge us for it, because of their inefficiency.”
He said that in Panama “they allow themselves to be caught up in this nationalist fervor that prevents them from finding common sense and solutions in this regard.”
The union of workers at the Electric Transmission Company, SA (Etesa) has said that the benefits demanded in the new collective agreement (such as free electricity consumption, a 15% salary increase, food vouchers, bonuses, and increases in the amounts of compensation and mutual agreements, among others) are “fair and necessary” aspirations.
He also accused the company and the media of waging a “psychological war” to “delegitimize our just struggle.”
“The attacks on the union come from mercenaries [within the sell-out workers] (sic) and from media outlets that follow guidelines but, in their supreme ignorance, do not understand labor-management relations and obligations under international ILO conventions,” said the Union of Electrical and Related Industry Workers of the Republic of Panama (Sitiespa) in a statement issued after La Prensa reported on the content of the proposal presented to Etesa’s general management at the start of negotiations for the collective agreement for the 2025-2027 biennium.
“This proposal, still under discussion, should have remained exclusively between the negotiating parties, not in the hands of those seeking to undermine our struggle,” Sitiespa claims in its statement, in which it indicates that it delivered a protest note to Roy Morales , general manager of Etesa.
The union also accuses the administration of not having presented a “counterproposal” and of intending to postpone the negotiation of the collective agreement until July 2025.
In the statement, Sitiespa does not refer specifically to the benefits raised at the negotiating table, except to say that they are working conditions “that we deserve.”
The Etesa administration also issued a press release, the day before the union did, to state that all economic prerogatives (current and proposed) are under evaluation, including those applied “at the level of senior management staff.”
“The new administration is committed to transparency and the efficient use of the resources of this state-owned company,” Etesa said.
Sitiespa presented a 58-page proposal that, among other things, provides that no worker will pay for the electricity consumed in their home. In addition, they would be exempt from paying the security deposit that distributors require from their customers. If any worker opts to have solar panels installed in their home, the company will cover the entire cost of installation and equipment.
They also propose a general salary increase plan, which includes an initial adjustment of 15% and, subsequently, increases each year, the percentage of which will depend on the results of the consumer price index (CPI).
They also demand performance bonuses, even for those workers who obtain a score of between 30% and 50% in the evaluation test.
Management may not dismiss any worker without the “consent” of the union, even if the worker has incurred any of the grounds for justified dismissal contemplated in the Labor Code .
In the event of leaving the company (either through dismissal for justified cause or by mutual agreement), the employee would receive a “compensation” equivalent to at least 8 months of base salary; this amount would increase according to his or her seniority in the company. For example, the proposed compensation for an employee with nine years of service would be 50 months of base salary.
Likewise, those who retire from the company would receive a bonus of $30,000.
The union also included in its proposal the annual delivery of four food vouchers of $500 each, for each worker, as well as a Christmas bag each December, worth $350. At Christmas, each worker would also receive a bonus equivalent to 100% of their base salary.
The great paradox is the attendance bonus, which would be awarded even to those who are absent. The bonus would be given every six months and would consist of $200 for each worker who is not absent for more than 10 days in a semester (whether January-June or July-December); the bonus would drop to $100 if their record shows between 11 and 20 absences.
For those workers on a “mission” or who need to sleep away from their residence, a daily allowance of between $550 and $800 is being requested. Sitiespa, which so strongly defended the party held last Christmas (despite the express order of the Presidency of the Republic to suspend all entertainment), is now planning to add three more: one for Father’s Day (the third Sunday in June), another for Engineer’s Day (January 26 of each year) and one more, for the “day of administrative assistants and secretaries.”
A judge ordered preventive detention and charged a 36-year-old man for allegedly distributing child pornography, which he obtained through a fake internet account and then sold to adults.
During a hearing in the Second Judicial District (Coclé and Veraguas), Judge Liliana Ortíz ordered the precautionary measure, after the presentation of evidence by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Among the evidence, images were found on the accused’s cell phone that demonstrated the sale of pornographic material of minors.
The investigation, which began in December 2024, revealed that the accused created a fake profile on the internet, posing as a girl to contact other minors and obtain illicit content.
Prior to the charge of child pornography, the court legalized his arrest and the inspection of technological devices seized during his capture.
Sources linked to the case reported that this is the second time that the accused has been investigated for this crime. On the first occasion, the authorities did not have enough evidence to bring charges against him.
The High Court of Criminal Cases overturned a decision by Judge Águeda Rentería and upheld the precautionary measures prohibiting those accused of money laundering through contracts executed by the National Aid Program (PAN) from leaving the country.
The ruling – dated January 2, 2025 – amended the previous one of October 29, 2024 by which Judge Rentería lifted the precautionary measures applied to the former head of PAN projects Abraham Williams , Rosa González , Mónica Andrade , Carlos Ramos , Boris Zeballos , Pacífico González , Celia Jiménez , Alvin Araúz , Junica Ortega , Mónica Peralta , Esperanza Juárez and the siblings Jonathan and Loreine Guardia , children of the former director of the former director of the PAN, Rafael Guardia Jaén.
Judge Rentería ordered the lifting of the precautionary measures applied to those under investigation, following the conclusion of the trial in which the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that those involved be sentenced for the crimes of money laundering and illicit association.
During the trial, prosecutors from the Public Ministry alleged that Rafael Guardia Juárez (fugitive and also the son of Guardia Jaén), Loraine Guardia Juárez and Jonathan Guardia Andrión, created companies and cashed checks from funds assigned to the PAN in an irregular manner, to acquire movable and immovable property.
In their arguments, prosecutors claimed that the funds obtained illegally moved through the companies Inversiones Glora, Grupo Piombino, Inversiones Alimac and Inversiones Harl.
Judge Rentería has not yet issued a verdict regarding the accusations made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the defense attorneys’ claims regarding the innocence of their clients.
The investigation dates back to 2015 into money movements obtained through alleged bribery and other irregularities in contracts and purchases made by the PAN.
On November 30, 2023, the High Court for the Liquidation of Criminal Cases overturned a ruling by the liquidated Fifteenth Criminal Court that issued an acquittal in favor of the 17 defendants and called them to trial for the crime of money laundering.
The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has launched nine investigations into irregularities in the handling of PAN contracts. These include the purchase of dehydrated food, grains, tires, school backpacks, helicopter rentals, the execution of community works, the delivery of food bags, the purchase of musical instruments, Christmas bags, and the program called Piso y Techo.