News
Wednesday 15th January 2025.
January 14, 2025
Anel Bolo Flores, Comptroller General since January 2, has asked the heads of state entities to refrain from agreeing to addendums invoking the contractual balance mechanism, considering that many of these claims are “unjustified.”
“We are telling all the ministers of State that the word ‘contractual balance’ is prohibited and will be viewed with great scrutiny, because you are indeed right that there were many abuses there,” Flores said in a press conference on Tuesday, January 14.
He also confirmed that he dismissed Zenia Vásquez de Palacios , general secretary of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) between 2020-2024. The previous comptroller, Gerardo Solís , had placed Vásquez on the payroll with the position of “executive assistant II” since November 6, with the status of “permanent” official, so that she would remain in the institution once Flores assumed command.
Vásquez was a partner of Odila Castillo , a former advisor to Solís and a lawyer who has amassed a fortune managing contractual balances in favor of state contractors. Regarding Castillo, Solís has said that she was an “excellent public servant” and that she is “the one who best knows administrative law and public contracts” in Panama.
The new comptroller said on Tuesday that “what has already been endorsed is not much I can do”; however, he assured that he will review “with a magnifying glass” the addenda that have not been endorsed, since he believes that many of these claims are “unjustified and we will not accept them.”
Flores has seen many contractors invoke contractual balance, citing the mobility restrictions imposed in 2020 due to Covid-19. However, he pointed out that the pandemic is a fortuitous event and that this condition is stipulated in the contracts.
Although Flores admitted not knowing the total amount represented by the contractual balances endorsed in the previous administration, he does not consider it necessary to carry out an audit, as he claims to have a lot of work ahead of him.
Vásquez joined the Comptroller’s Office five years ago, under the guidance of Solís. Before that, she was a partner of Odila Castillo in the law firm Palacios Vásquez y Asociados.
But Vásquez was not the only trusted official whom Solís, at the end of his administration, converted into “executive assistant II.” He did the same with 16 directors and department heads of the CGR. Flores decided to keep 10 of them, although he did not specify the functions they currently perform.
“What happens is that when they stop being directors due to a change in administration, they do not lose their positions, but are relocated to other positions. This is a practice that has been maintained for the last 40 years,” Flores explained.
Comptroller Anel ‘Bolo’ Flores announced on Tuesday, January 14, at a press conference that the government has begun an audit of the electricity company Naturgy, in which the State has a significant shareholding. In addition, he announced that in the coming days a detailed financial review will be carried out on Panama Ports Company, a key concessionaire for the national logistics sector.
Flores compared the current economic situation with the challenges experienced by Panama after the invasion in 1989. However, he stressed that the current problem is not temporary, but structural, derived from a public debt that exceeds 60% of GDP. According to the comptroller, this situation limits resources for investing in the future and forces a rethinking of the use of national savings and fiscal adjustments. Given this scenario, he stressed the need for transparent and responsible actions to correct deficiencies in public administration and joint ventures. Flores called for reforming the laws that govern concessions and contracts of national relevance. According to him, the current approval model, which depends on executive boards with members appointed by the Executive, lacks transparency and effective controls. The intention is to ensure that future contracts are more equitable and that the resources generated by strategic companies contribute significantly to the development of the country.
The possibility of a law being passed in Panama to prevent the civil seizure of property and assets of media outlets and people who report acts of corruption seems to be increasingly remote.
The Government and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the National Assembly rejected on Tuesday, January 14, Bill 91, which sought that objective. The proposal had been presented by Congressman Ernesto Cedeño, of the Movimiento Otro Camino (MOCA).
The deputies who voted against this initiative were Luis Eduardo Camacho , president of the commission, and Ariel Vallarino , both from Realizing Goals (RM); Didiano Pinilla , from Democratic Change (CD); and Johana Cedeño , substitute for Raúl Pineda , from the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD).
Voting in favor of approving the project in the first debate were José Pérez Barboni , from MOCA; Roberto Zúñiga , from Vamos; and Francisco Panchito Brea , from the Panameñista Party. Manuel Chen Peñalba , from Vamos, and Marta Sandoya , from the PRD, abstained .
The debate was marked by various considerations regarding the practice of journalism in Panama, the right to freedom of expression and the right to defense, among others.
In addition to Ernesto Cedeño, who defended his proposal arguing that the economic suffocation of media outlets and whistleblowers must stop, José Pérez Barboni and Roberto Zúñiga spoke in favor of the initiative.
Pérez Barboni supported the bill, mentioning, among other things, that it is necessary to avoid SLAPPs ( Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ), strategic litigation against public participation, since “the objective of many is to exhaust the other party in order to intimidate it.” He added that initiatives like this are part of the standards that developed countries have implemented.
Zúñiga recalled that it is “precisely” thanks to the complaints that reach the media that, on many occasions, justice acts. “He who does not owe it does not fear it,” he said. He recommended clarifying the definition of the term media.
For his part, Luis Eduardo Camacho said that the project does not guarantee “any democracy, nor does it guarantee the right to freedom of expression, because the right to expression does not imply libertinism.” He also asked his colleagues to vote against it. “This project wants to take us to hell,” he said.
Manuel Chen, from Vamos, was another who spoke out against the initiative. He said he was concerned that the person “who is weakened by the attack will not have the right to reply.”
The Ombudsman, Eduardo Leblanc, also participated in the debate. His arguments were against the proposal. He spoke of a “clash of rights,” stated that “everything has a limit” and expressed concern about “the reason for this project.”
Banco General’s Yappy platform reported intermittent payments and transfers on the morning of Tuesday, January 14.
Users on social media have reported that when making a transfer through the platform, using the bank’s mobile application, they receive a message stating that the application is not available. For its part, Banco General, through its social media, reported that they are working to solve the problem and urged its customers to make transfers and payments through online banking, YappyApp, branches or ATMs.
One week after the start of the trial of 25 people for money laundering related to the payment of bribes through the company Odebrecht, the First Liquidation Court of Criminal Cases has not yet received key judicial assistance related to the investigations carried out by the Brazilian authorities. This assistance is part of the evidence that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office must collect.
Sources linked to the process reported that said assistance includes statements from former executives of the Brazilian company on the movements of funds delivered by Odebrecht to Panamanian officials.
The trial, led by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, has admitted as evidence various judicial aids sent to Brazil, Andorra, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States. These are part of the elements of conviction that the Prosecutor’s Office will use to establish the connection of the accused and determine their degree of responsibility in the events investigated.
The trial, originally scheduled for December 12, was postponed to Monday, January 20 due to the lack of responses to several requests for judicial assistance from the United States and Mexico, as well as to certain letters issued by the court.
At the same time, this week the court is carrying out proceedings related to a civil suit filed by the State against the defendants in this case. This civil action includes a lawsuit against former presidents Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019) for alleged material and moral damages caused. Also charged are the former’s two sons, Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enrique, who confessed in the United States that they received bribes from Odebrecht. However, it is the Supreme Court of Justice that would have to prosecute them, since they have the status of alternate deputies of the Central American Parliament.
The Superior Court of Appeals of the First Judicial District confirmed a decision by a compliance judge who ordered the preventive detention of Milena Vallarino de Ferrufino , wife of former Minister of Social Development Guilermo Ferrufino , convicted of the crime of unjustified enrichment.
In a hearing that began at 8:30 a.m. and ended at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 14, magistrates Donají Arosemena, Massiel Ruiz and Carlos Barragan did not accept the petition presented by attorney Eduardo Sequeira, who requested that his client be granted a precautionary measure of house arrest.
Citing humanitarian reasons, the defendant was able to care for two of her children, aged 12 and 14, and Sequeira asked the court to change the precautionary measure.
However, in a unanimous decision, the magistrates decided not to accept Sequeria’s request and to uphold the first instance decision adopted by the judge of compliance, Francisco Jaramillo, to maintain the preventive detention of Vallarino de Ferrufino.
He also explained that his client’s eldest son is under house arrest after his mother was arrested in the operation in which she was arrested and a large sum of money was found on her that she could not justify, and that her minor children are in a vulnerable state.
At a hearing held on January 2, Judge Jaramillo ruled that Vallarino should have ensured the safety of her children.
In February 2022, the court convicted Ferrufino and his wife for failing to justify the sum of $2.2 million, accumulated while he was minister of Mides, during the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014).
The investigation carried out by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the couple kept a list of properties and assets acquired without justification: a Yamaha motorcycle ($7,000), a Land Cruiser Prado truck ($42,083) and five farms, each acquired at a price between $100,000 and $500,000, among others.
Panama’s economy is expected to grow at a rate of 4% this year, and begin to recover its growth path.
This was highlighted by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman, at the Vision Forum organized by La Prensa , on economic projections and opportunities for Panama, in which he noted that they are generating confidence and certainty to attract more investment and generate employment.
The minister highlighted the Government’s Strategic Plan for the years 2025 to 2029, which includes investments of $30 billion.
Chapman said that efforts are being made to clean up public finances.
For this year, the fiscal deficit is estimated to be 3.9%, equivalent to $3,591 million, and will be reduced to 2% to reach $2,302 million at the end of the five-year period.
Tax revenues are expected to reach $8.24 billion in 2025 and $10.96 billion in 2029.
The plan also includes investments of more than $30 billion over the five-year period, with an annual average of $6 billion.