News
Tuesday 30th January 2024.
January 29, 2024
Judge Cecilio Cedalise does not seem to be in any hurry to carry out the conviction in the New Business case .
Your signature is the only one missing to decide whether or not to admit the warning of unconstitutionality that Ricardo Martinelli presented against an article of the Judicial Code . The draft ruling, which was prepared by Judge Miriam Cheng , already has the signatures of eight judges. Only Cedalise’s is pending.
But Cedalise does not seem to be very eager: this Monday, January 29, he traveled to the province of Colón, to attend the inauguration of the offices of the municipal authority of Portobelo.
A press release from the Public Ministry confirmed that Cedalise accompanied the Attorney General of the Nation, Javier Caraballo. Both unveiled the plaque of the new judicial office. A purely protocol act.
Martinelli’s lawyers filed a claim of unconstitutionality against article 2439 of the Judicial Code , which deals with the requirements for the admission of cassation appeals.
They also filed an appeal against the sentence of 128 months in prison and a fine of $19.2 million against Martinelli, for laundering public funds to acquire the shares of Editora Panamá América, SA (Epasa) , in December 2010. This sentence It was issued last July by criminal judge Baloisa Marquínez and ratified in October by the Superior Court for the Settlement of Criminal Cases.
The Criminal Chamber did not admit or not the appeal, since for this it is necessary that a decision be first adopted regarding the warning of unconstitutionality.
Last October, Cedalise admitted an amparo of constitutional guarantees presented by Vernon Salazar, another of the defendants in the New Business case. This protection is due to the decision of the Superior Court for the Settlement of Criminal Cases to admit an appeal by the prosecution against the acquittal of Salazar and nine other defendants.
Fed up with the discretionary distribution of funds in favor of co-partisans and those close to power through the Institute for the Training and Use of Human Resources (Ifarhu) , a group of candidates for free nomination presented a legislative proposal to “depoliticize” access to study scholarships and financial aid.
To begin with, it is proposed to remove the power from Ifarhu to decide who receives or does not receive aid. The draft law proposes that a “national committee for education” be the one who approves or rejects all applications for scholarships and financial aid with public funds. This committee will be made up of citizens “of proven moral solvency, suitable professionals and educational associations.”
In addition, it will be an essential requirement that the applicant “prove his/her condition of limited resources.”
If it is discovered that the applicant has lied or omitted information, the aid will be withdrawn and the money already received must be returned in full, “without prejudice to any criminal and civil responsibilities that may apply.”
The document also proposes that all information on educational scholarships managed through State entities be publicly accessible and can be consulted on the internet.
The draft bill, written by Daniel Lombana , candidate for deputy in the 8-4 circuit, is supported by other candidates for free nomination, such as Cristhian Brandao (8-1 circuit), Sandy Correa (2-2), Ana Dutary (13-4), Yarelys Gómez (8-6), Luis Lasso (13-4), Betserai Richards (8-6), Omaira Singh (13-3) and Suky Yard (13-1). The group is called “Independent Frequency.”
For the year 2024, Ifarhu manages a budget of $369.7 million to distribute in scholarships and aid. Bernardo Meneses, director of Ifarhu until February 2023, is a candidate for deputy of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) in the 13-1 circuit.
The company Minera Panamá, a subsidiary of the Canadian company First Quantum, proposed to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Mici) to sell the 120 thousand tons of copper concentrate to finance part of the Preservation and Safe Management (PSG) program that will be implemented during the closure. of the mine located in the mountains of Donoso and Omar Torrijos in the province of Colón.
The company indicates that the monthly cost of the PSG will be between 15 million and 20 million dollars, and that the sale of the copper concentrate will generate enough money to cover part of the maintenance.
In a statement published on its social networks, Minera Panamá indicated that despite the unanimous ruling of unconstitutionality issued by the nine judges of the Supreme Court of Justice, the copper concentrate that is still stored in the concession is its property, for which, you can have its use.
“It is important to clarify that article 2 of the Mineral Resources Code establishes that this copper concentrate belongs to the company as a concessionaire at the time the mineral was extracted and processed, before the ruling of unconstitutionality against law 406 of 2023, on the 28th. November 2023,” indicates the mining company.
In the draft of the environmental program that Minera Panama delivered to the MICI on January 16, it is indicated that it is important to move the copper concentrate to avoid the release of copper sulfide dust and harmful gases such as hydrogen sulfide.
Although the MICI has not yet approved or rejected the draft delivered by Minera Panamá, the company indicates that in the coming weeks it could carry out a series of actions to avoid damage to the environment, such as the destruction of 215 tons of emulsion (inputs for blasting/explosives ).
“Detonation is necessary to prevent the uncontrolled release of hazardous substances and mitigate potential environmental impact, as remaining explosives can contaminate surrounding soil and water. Furthermore, the presence of unused explosives increases the risk of accidental detonation, which could have serious consequences for the safety of people and the environment.” indicated Minera Panama.
In addition to these actions, the company reiterated the request to continue operating the port of Punta Rincón and the coal-fired power plant to continue receiving inputs and generating energy for maintenance work.
The Electoral Prosecutor’s Office carried out an ocular inspection in the Juan Díaz Community Board , after receiving information that its township representative, the PRD member Imelda Sucre , was managing the purchase of 5 thousand supermarket vouchers to distribute among the inhabitants of the area, which in the end are its voters.
The diligence began at approximately 2:00 pm and was led by the electoral prosecutor for Primary Care, Salomón Fuentes, and other officials, who requested details about how the delivery of the bonds would be.
Prosecutor Fuentes explained that the procedure was carried out following a complaint filed about the alleged irregular use of decentralization funds for proselytizing purposes.
Fuentes explained that the diligence carried out on Monday afternoon was aimed at establishing the origin of the $94 thousand that was supposedly going to be used for the purchase of the bonds and how that distribution would be made to the population of Juan Díaz.
According to the Panama Compra portal , the reference price for the purchase amounts to $94 thousand. The local government will acquire 2 thousand $10 bonds, one thousand $20 bonds and another 2 thousand $25 bonds.
The town of Juan Díaz has 56,583 inhabitants, according to the 2023 census, and has been under the control of the Sucre family, militants of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), for several five-year periods.
Javier Sucre is a deputy in the 8-4 circuit, but in 2019 he was also elected representative of Juan Díaz. For that reason, his sister Imelda, who is his substitute, is in charge of the community board. In the elections on May 5, he intends to be re-elected in both positions.
Javier and Imelda are siblings of the Minister of Health, Luis Francisco Paco Sucre.
Eugenio Geñito Delgado warned as soon as he took over as Health representative, in 2019, that he wanted more funds from decentralization.
More than four years later, he got between four and 18 times more than other towns in his district, Chagres: $6,041,598.
The figure places it among the first two community boards that obtained the most funds from the National Decentralization Authority (AND) in the entire country, if the amounts are divided by number of inhabitants: $2,380 for each one.
Who is this man? How did he manage to position himself in the cast? What did they give him the millions for? What did he invest them in?
With an accommodating nature, Geñito has managed to climb the political ladder and is now going for more: he is a candidate for three positions in May. But perhaps his greatest cunning is linked to an accident: he is a neighbor of President Laurentino Nito Cortizo , whose farm is in Chagres.
The accounts of the community board that he directs show under-recording: they do not appear in Panamá Compra and Comptroller documents reveal payment orders for only 6% of what they gave him. Where did the rest go? The neighbors say that Geñito is “pure party.”
The Panamanian Football League (LPF) announced this Monday, January 29, that the current 2024 Apertura Tournament will be dedicated to Luis Matador Tejada , who died this Sunday after suffering a heart attack.
In addition, the league board reported that the tournament’s top scorer award, starting this year, will bear the name of Luis Tejada.
“On the dates of the LPF, LFF, Liga PROM and Youth League, a minute of silence will be held in respect for Luis Tejada, followed by applause at minute 18 in recognition of his legacy and the love he gave us with each play. ”the league reported in a statement.
The LPF stated that this posthumous recognition is to pay tribute to the memory of Matador Tejada, his ability to make us dream with each pass and that each goal is a legacy that will remain in the collective memory.
“His competitive spirit, his love for the sport and his human quality will endure eternally in the hearts of the Panamanian soccer community,” the LPF note highlights.
Tejada died of a heart attack this Sunday, January 28, after participating in a veterans league in the Santa Librada sector, San Miguelito district.
In the next few hours, the details of the funeral honors of the historic scorer of the Panamanian national team will be announced.