What Happened
La Prensa’s Tal Cual column reports a series of tensions inside Panama’s National Assembly: deputies debated working virtually amid high fuel prices, the bill to create the Inamu was finally presented to the full Assembly, several public officials were named as having left money at the legislature, and a private claimant expanded an arbitration case against the State.
Key developments
Several deputies — including Manuel Cheng, Walkiria Chandler, Pérez Barboni and Eduardo Gaitán — urged virtual work, citing the high cost of fuel. The column noted skepticism about whether deputies would maintain productivity when fewer people are watching them on camera.
Alexandra Brenes, president of the legislative Women’s Commission, presented the bill to create the Inamu to the plenary. The column framed this as overdue and contrasted it with comments from another deputy, Camacho, who had suggested he would shelve projects approved by the Government Commission, which he presides over.
Roberto Zúñiga read a list in plenary naming government officials who have “left money” at the Assembly; those mentioned include ministers Juan Carlos Navarro, Julio Moltó, José Ramón Icaza and Beatriz Carles, as well as administrators Ricaurte Vásquez (ACP) and Luis Roquebert (AMP). The column said such situations should not occur, stressing the Assembly’s role as a scrutiny mechanism.
The column also highlighted internal inconsistency among deputies over a bill on the right of reply: Raúl Pineda and Jairo Salazar had pledged to support sending the bill back to first debate but were absent when the vote mattered. In the independent faction three deputies abstained and one was absent.
PPC arbitration expansion
The column reported that PPC has enlarged its arbitration claims against Panama, asserting damages that “have escalated beyond $2,000 million” and alleging an illegal takeover of Balboa and Cristóbal. The piece questioned to whom PPC will present those claims, noting their own dividends had been withheld.
What this means
Taken together, the items sketch a legislature grappling with operational questions, internal discipline and oversight duties, while contentious commercial disputes with foreign or private claimants continue to pose potential economic and political costs. The presentation of the Inamu bill moves forward a legislative initiative on women’s matters, even as procedural disputes and high-profile allegations underscore continuing tensions inside the Assembly.