Friday
Friday 15th November 2024.
November 14, 2024
The Minister of the Presidency, Juan Carlos Orillac , announced that the Cabinet Council approved up to 100 million dollars to respond to the effects caused by recent climatic events.
Orillac clarified that this amount is provisional and will be used according to immediate needs; although it may not cover the total damage, it will allow for an initial response. “We do not know if the impacts will continue, since the forecast indicates possible additional events , so we have opted for a conservative approach in the approved amount,” he said.
Regarding the use of the approved funds, Orillac indicated that these will be managed independently by each affected ministry, prioritizing key sectors such as the Ministry of Public Works and the National Water and Sewer Institute (IDAAN) . Both institutions, responsible for road infrastructure and water supply, respectively, will require a significant portion of the budget to respond to urgent repair and supply needs.
The Minister of the Presidency also mentioned the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Education as other key beneficiaries of these resources.
On the other hand, the implementation of meteorological alerts, according to the director of the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), Omar Smith, is part of the prevention strategy in risk situations. He added that the system operates in two phases: surveillance and warning.
Warnings are issued two to three hours in advance and are continuously monitored. As weather conditions evolve, alert levels are adjusted and, if necessary, provincial and national emergency operations centres are activated, ready to respond to landslides or floods.
Orillac mentioned efforts to restore water service in the most affected areas. Due to the flooding of rivers and the collapse of pumping stations, supplies in some regions have had to be adjusted with tanker trucks and bottled water.
In other areas, Idaan has deployed its stocks to supply essential infrastructure, such as health centres. The priority, according to the minister, is to achieve a sustainable recovery of the water system, although constant rains have made full restoration difficult in some areas.
Currently, the country is under surveillance due to the current weather conditions.
The rains in Panama will extend until November 17, according to the latest monitoring notice issued by the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (Imhpa) . This forecast includes rains accompanied by thunderstorms in the provinces of Chiriquí, Veraguas, Bocas del Toro, Herrera, Los Santos and the Ngäbe Buglé region.
Imhpa meteorologist Enamuel Velásquez explained that the surveillance notice will be in effect until 11:59 pm on November 17, 2024.
The Ministry of the Presidency and the Attorney General’s Office have appealed a court decision that prevents Soho Mall ‘s creditor banks from participating in the process being carried out to decide whether Abdul Waked (former owner of the shopping center) should be compensated or not by the Panamanian State.
The Third Administrative Litigation Chamber of the CSJ admitted the appeal against the decision taken by that judicial office that denied a ” request for a guarantee ” in favor of the creditor banks.
Waked is seeking compensation of just over $1.268 billion.
Through Edict No. 3170 posted on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 13, in the office of the Third Chamber, it is reported that the appeal filed by the Office of the Attorney General, headed by Rigoberto González , and by the Ministry of the Presidency, represented by attorney Yariela Shiara Stevens , has been admitted .
The resolution was signed by Judge Carlos Vásquez and the edict was posted for a period of five days for the notification of the parties involved in the compensation process proposed by Waked against the Panamanian State.
The resolution issued on September 5 excluded the creditor banks of the SoHo Mall from the compensation process proposed by Waked against the State.
The creditor banks are the beneficiaries of the trust to which Waked voluntarily transferred Soho Mall, after the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury included Waked, his family members, lawyers, companies and corporations in the Clinton List of activities linked to money laundering, in June 2016.
The arguments that the Ministry of the Presidency and the Office of the Attorney General will present to the Third Chamber to change the decision taken in the first instance by Judge Vásquez are unknown.
Attorney González, who represents the State in this process, requested that the creditor banks of Soho Mall be allowed to participate as affected third parties. These banks are beneficiaries of the trust and their participation as affected third parties would have allowed them to claim, in the event that the Panamanian State is ordered to compensate Waked.
The National Bank of Panama (BNP) acted as trustee in two trusts to which Waked voluntarily transferred two of his businesses, when he was listed by OFAC: the Felix B. Maduro chain of stores and the Soho Mall shopping center.
Waked claimed $165 million in damages for BNP’s actions regarding Felix’s trust, but the court denied that claim.
The Hermanos Palacios Group (Hepsa) filed a complaint with the corresponding authorities after one of its products under its brand was counterfeited.
This is Pelin special rice. Recently, a batch of rice from China, packed with labels of the Panamanian brand, was found in a container in a Pacific port.
The National Customs Authority (ANA) immediately launched an investigation into alleged smuggling and counterfeiting.
The Hepsa group, meanwhile, said that these were “contraband practices and open violations of our industrial property rights.”
He said they are actively collaborating in the ongoing investigation to identify and punish those responsible for “these illicit trade practices.”
The company said that authentic Pelin rice is only available at authorized points of sale, such as supermarkets, mini-supermarkets and “trusted” wholesalers.
President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino , announced today, November 14, his expectations of maintaining a solid and two-way relationship with the administration of Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20.
The Panamanian president expressed his desire that the migration issue be placed high on the shared agenda. He pointed out that, due to the migration crisis, Panama assumes significant annual costs, which has generated financial pressure on the country.
The president also referred to the impact of the crisis in Venezuela, a situation that, he said, will continue to generate migratory flows to Panama. In this context, he described the “human drama” that is being experienced on the border, especially in areas such as Lajas Blancas, in Darién, where migrant families face losses and extreme conditions.
For the Panamanian president, it is essential that Washington recognizes that this is a problem that directly involves the United States, since most migrants do not intend to stay in Panama, but rather to achieve the “American dream.”
He concluded by stating that the migration crisis will be a priority when Panama assumes its role in the United Nations Security Council in January.
He also expressed his desire to maintain a constructive relationship with the Donald Trump administration, similar to the one he had with President Joe Biden, in search of a joint solution to the migration crisis affecting the entire region. This year, more than 250,000 migrants have crossed the Darien Gap, and 170 of them have lost their lives on this dangerous route.
On November 21, a delegation from the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) will arrive in the country to hold a meeting with President José Raúl Mulino .
President Mulino announced that the meeting is to sign the Chapultepec Declaration on Freedom of Expression and the Press.
The SIP delegation will be headed by José Roberto Dutriz , president of that organization.
Mulino said that with this accession, Panama expresses its desire to be a country where freedom of the press and opinion is respected.
“It will be a great honor to have these important representatives of the Inter-American Press Association here at the Presidency of the Republic,” the president said.
The Chapultepec Declaration is a key document in defense of press freedom in Latin America. It was adopted on March 11, 1994 in Mexico.
It was endorsed by the hemispheric conference on freedom of expression, coordinated by the Organization of American States, at Chapultepec Castle.
Just days before the announcement of the promotions of members of the State security forces, President José Raúl Mulino modified the norm that established the date on which these promotions were to take effect.
According to the executive decrees approved in 2020 by then-President Laurentino Cortizo (2019-2024), promotions in the National Police , the National Aeronaval Service (Senan) and the National Border Service (Senafront) would be published on the third Friday of the month of November of each year.
That is, for 2024, the promotions were to be announced this Friday, November 15. But now that will not be the case. According to the new modifications published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday, November 13, it is established that the President of the Republic will have the power to determine the date on which the promotion will take place, a decision that he will evaluate together with the Minister of Public Security and the directors of the Police, Senan and Senafront.
During 2023, amidst the demonstrations and protests against the mining law, the Public Force made 6,436 promotions in the different security branches of the State.
The promotion notifications were made on November 27 and 28 of that year.
The highest number of promotions was recorded in the ranks of the National Police, where 3,777 promotions were made. In the police alone there will be 13 new commissioners and 30 deputy commissioners.
The police also promoted 50 captains to the rank of major and 446 lieutenants to the rank of captain.