Aleman takes attack in defense of the old PAN

Arrogance and political attacks against several media and ignorance of the rulings of the Comptroller General of the Republic and anti-corruption czar, brought to light yesterday the Minister of the Presidency, Alvaro German, trying to justify the purchases and contracts that the Ministry Housing and Land Management and Health diverted National Assistance Program (PAN) so far the government of Juan Carlos Varela.

However,  Aleman, like President Varela, could not explain why all purchases and installment contracts remained in the hands of government-linked companies, such as Airco S.A, Royal Construction, Transisa, Pumper S.A, TLK Import & Export and others.

The case that stands out most in this favoritism in the PAN is to Airco S.A., owned by Pedro "Peter" Vallarino, a personal friend of Varela and has been the exclusive supplier of all machinery purchased the PAN program for Ceilings of Hope took effect since the current government.

Aleman said yesterday that can not legally be noted that the PAN is dividing or splitting material purchases because the entity is not subject to the Public Procurement Act 22.

However, the law that created the PAN claims that the entity may also make use of the Public Procurement Law 22 for cases which are not notorious urgency, which applied perfectly well to the program Ceilings of Hope.

Instead, Aleman, in a annoying tone, said that behind it there is a campaign to try to show that there is corruption in the government of Varela and that those responsible are former President Ricardo Martinelli, its media and its political allies in Panama, which he described as "thugs", naming Luis Camacho directly and Alma Cortés.

Aleman also made other sectors of civil society, including hinted the newspaper La Prensa responsible for these attacks, claiming that they are of the position that the PAN had to be closed.

"We won the elections and we decided to continue with the PAN," Aleman said defiantly. He also said that as Minister of the Presidency he told the Comptroller Federico Humbert and anti-corruption czar, Maytín Angelica, who disagreed with his pronouncements that these purchases on PAN has not division of matter.

"The signs of the Comptroller are political, not legal," he said to twice. After Humbert refused to endorse contracts to the company Airco and Pumper, citing division of matter.

Both contracts, then, were approved by insistence on the board of the PAN. Even this week, Humbert said that this decision allowed him to save his responsibility to these contracts.

Meanwhile, Aleman said to Maytín also clarified that the PAN does not apply the subject matter division, so the director of the organization, Rafael Stanziola, and Housing Minister Mario Etchelecu, did not commit a foul .

Aleman also tried to put his hand to direct contracts has received Airco SA, noting that several companies were invited to list, but all were awarded to the company for the personal friend of Varela.

As a result, Aleman also known pronouncement of a group of distributors of heavy equipment have complained that the PAN and Miviot have not allowed them to compete for favoritism that exists with Airco and Fiorazio companies.

The complaint was filed in a statement signed by the companies Cardoze & Lindo, F. Icaza, Copama, Grupo Tiesa, Comercial de Motores and others.

 Only in 2015, the PAN 20 contracts awarded by invitation Airco for the supply of machinery, tools and building materials led to the Ceilings of Hope program that takes the Miviot. In 2014, Etchelecu also awarded Airco, through the PAN, 11 contracts between October and December 2014 for $1.8 million, according to an official report obtained by this means.

Of these, only the December 9, 2014, the Miviot awarded, through its agreement with the PAN, five contracts to Airco SA for the supply of backhoes, one for $217,010 and three for $147,569 each.

Manufacturers of construction platforms also claimed an alleged favoritism in favor of Royal Construction Company, having been benefited with a contract for 10 million dollars.

Etchelecu was forced to stop bidding for a second purchase of building platforms for 20 million dollars, then these companies argued that the statement of objections included specifications that allowed only participate company: Royal Construction.

However, during 2015, he continued to buy part Miviot platforms through the PAN. The report of this entity uncovered other purchases by $ 1.1 million on these platforms built to the same company, Royal Construction. Three purchases under this same product, one for $ 90,000 to Formesan Panama 631, another for $97,836 Doka, and the third is also made for $44,940 to Hopsa.

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Ministerio Público solicita auditoría en el expediente del caso de compras fraccionadas en el Miviot-DAS

La Procuraduría General de la Nación solicitó formalmente la auditoría en el caso del Miviot-DAS. 

La información la dio a conocer una fuente del Ministerio Público, que destacó que la investigación sobre este caso ya se inició formalmente con la solicitud de esta diligencia.

Detalló la fuente que el resultado de la auditoría es fundamental para determinar si existen elementos de pruebas suficientes que indiquen que los jefes de ambas instituciones cometieron delitos contra la administración pública.

La fuente señaló que ambos casos se están investigando por separado; ambos se iniciaron de oficio, luego de una serie de publicaciones de Panamá América que daban cuenta de la existencia de compras fraccionadas para beneficiar con contratos directos a unas siete empresas, entre las que se mencionan a allegados del presidente Juan Carlos Varela.

Luego de conocer sobre la existencia de estas investigaciones, el titular del Miviot, Mario Etchelecu, se presentó voluntariamente ante la Procuraduría para ponerse a disposición.

La procuradora general de la nación, en la entrega de su informe del primer año al frente del Ministerio Público, indicó que en su despacho hay 107 investigaciones en contra de actuales funcionarios de jerarquía del Gobierno central y el Órgano Judicial.

Investigaciones contra ministros de Estado, el rector de la Universidad de Panamá, Gustavo García de Paredes, contra directores de los estamentos de seguridad, magistrados del Tribunal Superior y fiscales superiores; en ambas entidades, se han dado escándalos de venta de libertades y pérdida de expedientes relacionados con delitos de narcotráfico.

Cifras

22 es el número de la ley de contrataciones públicas a la que no está sujeta el antiguo PAN.

10 millones de dólares en contratos recibió Royal Construcción, lo cual fue cuestionado.