News
Wednesday 7th December 2022.
December 7, 2022
The session of the Municipal Council of Panama this Tuesday was not similar to the previous ones in which the majority of the mayors were complacent with the administration of José Luis Fábrega. On this occasion, issues such as dismissals, Christmas lighting and the silence of the Municipality of Panama on the annulment of the Land Management Plan of San Francisco were questioned. The first to do so was the representative of Curundú, Senén Mosquera, who stressed that there is “persecution” by the Fábrega administration against officials of that community board. In fact, he denounced that the mayor dismissed several of the workers of that corregimiento. But the criticism was not limited to just dismissals. There was also criticism against the silence that the Municipality of Panama maintains regarding the suspension of the San Francisco Land Management Plan, ordered by the Third Chamber of Administrative Litigation of the Supreme Court of Justice. In this context, the mayor of that corregimiento and also a member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, Carlos Pérez Herrera, asked the Municipality to rule on the matter. While the representative of Don Bosco, Guillermo Bermúdez, criticized the Christmas lighting and suggested that the Comptroller General of the Republic review the contract. The lighting was also questioned by the mayor of Bella Vista, Ricardo Domínguez, and by that of Mayor Díaz, Ricardo Precilla. Deputy Mayor Judy Meana also took the floor and said she felt “beaten” because she was the person who came out to explain herself. “I tell journalists that I don’t go out to defend anyone [Fábrega], because here everyone has to be responsible for what they do,” she said.
The Public Ministry reported that it began investigations after the robbery that occurred at noon yesterday Tuesday, at a jewelry store located on Avenida 12 de Octubre, Pueblo Nuevo district. After reporting the incident, agents of the National Police and personnel from the Primary Care Prosecutor’s Office arrived at the scene to initiate the respective investigations. Deputy Commissioner Jaime Toledo, head of the San Francisco Police Zone, reported that the robbery took place in the Metro plaza and that five men who were traveling in a white sedan were being pursued.
The consumption of food and basic products, which had been at a good pace at the beginning of the year, began to slow down towards the third quarter, due to the continuous increase in the prices of many of the categories of basic products with imported components. A report by the consulting firm Nielsen IQ warns about the behavior in the sales channels, which include supermarket chains, grocery stores (chinitos stores), traditional stores and pharmacies. The record specifies that, in the first quarter of this year, the volume of sales increased 17.6% and billing 17.7%, while the prices of the products analyzed had risen just 2%, in contrast to the same period in 2021. By the second quarter of 2022, the basket of 68 processed products measured by Nielsen IQ reported a 2.6% rise in prices. The basket is divided into categories such as groceries, where there are oils, tuna, sardines, tomato sauce, baby drinks, children’s cereals, coffee, canned beans, packaged bread, pasta and prepared soups. In addition to other categories such as personal hygiene, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, basic grains, sweets, dairy products, and cleaning.Consumer billing when purchasing these products increased 14% and the purchase volume was 13.4% higher between April and June than in the previous quarter.
The Ministry of Housing and Territorial Planning (Miviot) reported that it began with the demolition of five condemned buildings in the San Miguel sector, Calidonia corregimiento. In a Miviot statement, it is reported that the work is being carried out by the company Centro Equipos SA, which includes labor, equipment and administration for the demolition of the five block buildings known as Chame (38 apartments), Capira 1 (76 apartments ), Capira 2 (76), Chorrera (37) and San Carlos (40). Regarding the San Carlos building, the ministry reported that the structure is still inhabited, despite being declared condemned, since according to the authorities its occupants refuse to leave, despite the options offered. It was reported that the structures in this sector date back to 1945 and that the works, at a cost of 860 thousand dollars, will last 150 calendar days and that upon completion the land will be leveled. The buildings are about 77 years old and their cement and steel structures wore out over time. The Miviot announced that new housing solutions will be built in the area. It was reported that this year the people who lived in these buildings were relocated to hotels and others with relatives. The Miviot explained that these people have a promise of a housing solution.
The Trial Court of the Third Judicial Circuit sentenced a former National Police agent to 50 years in prison for the crime of femicide against his 22-year-old partner and attempted femicide against his 43-year-old mother-in-law.The Public Ministry reported that the sentencing hearing for Oliver Jesús Delgado González, 25, was held on Monday, December 5. it is detailed that judges Daniel Samaniego, Alina Hubiedo and Judith Vivero, by means of conviction No. 305 of November 18, issued a sentence of 30 years for femicide and 20 for attempted femicide. Likewise, the accessory penalty of five years of prohibition to carry a firearm was imposed on him.
The Public Ministry highlighted that the senior prosecutor, Sherly Barría, managed to prove the responsibility of the sentenced through testimonial and expert evidence supported during the trial held on November 17 and 18, 2022, which allowed the jury of conscience to find him. guilty. The act of violence occurred on February 7, 2021 in the Altos de San Francisco sector, district of La Chorrera (West Panama). According to the authorities, in the early hours of that date the man inflicted 23 wounds with a knife (machete) on his partner in various parts of her body. He later died at the hospital. He also assaulted his mother-in-law, causing several injuries.
A petition to carry out an audit of the Municipality of San Miguelito, as a result of non-payment of employer-employee contributions, was presented by the lawyer Ernesto Cedeño before the Comptroller General of the Republic. Cedeño went Monday morning to the Comptroller’s Office and delivered the petition, based on article 41 of the Constitution , which states that ” everyone has the right to submit respectful petitions and complaints to public officials for reasons of interest social or private, and to obtain a prompt resolution”.The article also indicates that ” the public servant before whom a petition, consultation or complaint is presented must resolve it within a term of 30 days .” Through various means of communication, the Municipality of San Miguelito has acknowledged that it is delinquent in the payment of employer-worker contributions to the Social Security Fund (CSS).The mayor Héctor Valdés Carrasquilla himself has said that discounts are given to officials, but, according to Cedeño, several unknowns remain: how much is the total amount evaded, why the CSS was not paid and where that money has gone.