---
title: "Panama Lawmaker Seeks to Ban Presidential Discretionary Funds After $201 Million in Spending"
date: 2026-04-05
author: ""
url: https://panamadaily.news/panama-discretionary-funds-ban-proposal/
categories:
  - "Economy"
  - "News"
  - "Politics"
tags:
  - "budget reform"
  - "discretionary funds"
  - "National Assembly"
  - "Panama"
  - "public spending"
  - "transparency"
---

# Panama Lawmaker Seeks to Ban Presidential Discretionary Funds After $201 Million in Spending

## What Happened

A proposal before the National Assembly aims to eliminate discretionary public funds used by top officials in Panama, reviving debate over a budget line long criticized for weak oversight. The initiative was presented by deputy Luis Duke Walker, of the Vamos coalition, and is now before the Committee on Economy and Finance.

The bill would prohibit budget allocations whose use is left to the discretion of public servants. It would also bar officials from directing public money toward aid, subsidies or individual benefits unless those expenses are tied to programs already established in the state budget.

## Who Would Be Covered

The proposal applies broadly across the public sector. It would cover spending assigned for the president and vice president, ministers and vice ministers, directors and deputy directors of autonomous and semi-autonomous entities, senior administrators, executive secretaries in the Presidency, state company managers, and officials in ministries, public entities and local authorities.

Another part of the bill would require all public institutions to publish detailed information on how public resources are executed, including transfers, supplemental credits, social aid, subsidies, scholarships and any other benefit granted or received with public money. The measure would also set minimum mandatory fields for those disclosures.

## The Spending Pattern Behind the Proposal

Duke Walker argues that discretionary spending has repeatedly been used in ways that fueled public controversy. He points to a long-running pattern across administrations that together have spent at least $201.4 million since the system was formalized in 1994 through February 2026.

During Ernesto Pérez Balladares’s administration, from 1994 to 1999, discretionary spending totaled $25 million. That period included about $200,000 for Carnival-related expenses, purchases in jewelry stores listed as “attentions of the Superior Office,” and $38,000 categorized as “contingencies” to cover credit card costs.

Under Mireya Moscoso, from 1999 to 2004, the total reached $23 million. That administration drew attention for more than $588,000 spent at jewelry stores and nearly $942,000 at luxury clothing shops.

Martín Torrijos’s government, between 2004 and 2009, used $22.3 million, much of it on “professional services and advice,” along with travel and protocol expenses.

## Recent Governments And The Broader Debate

The largest jump came under Ricardo Martinelli, whose 2009-2014 administration spent $55.7 million. Among the spending patterns cited were aesthetic surgeries and political donations disguised as social assistance.

Juan Carlos Varela’s government used $41.7 million between 2014 and 2019. That period included medical expenses, including a bariatric surgery for the then-director of the National Security Council, as well as support for surgeries for children and adults in Panama and abroad.

During Laurentino Cortizo’s administration, public funds assigned through this mechanism reached $31.2 million. One investigation found that the Ministry of the Presidency paid at least $711,000 for 46 bariatric surgeries at private hospitals in Panama.

As for José Raúl Mulino’s government, spending had reached $2.5 million by February. That figure includes medical help abroad for children with heart conditions, equipment purchases from a private company, vehicle repairs for presidential use, and donations for religious and animal-welfare causes.

## Why It Matters

The proposal frames discretionary funds as a transparency problem and a risk to public trust. By moving emergency assistance and other benefits into formal institutional programs, the bill seeks to channel spending through clearer rules and stronger controls.

If approved, the measure would mark a major shift in how Panama’s executive branch manages aid and special spending, ending a practice that has survived multiple governments and repeatedly drawn scrutiny over the years.