What Happened
A guarantees judge sentenced former Río Indio representative Eudocio Chirú Sánchez and former treasurer Lorenzo Alonso Pérez to 60 months in prison for doloso peculado tied to the irregular handling of public funds for social works in Penonomé, Coclé.
Judge Liliana Ortiz approved the prison terms during a hearing held Friday at the judicial offices in Coclé after an agreement between the defendants and anticorruption prosecutor Javier Mitre. Both men were also barred from holding public office for the same period as their prison sentence once it is completed.
Audit Findings
The case centers on funds provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance for community projects in Río Indio. An audit report from the Comptroller General of the Republic documented irregularities in the local board totaling $301,959.
According to the audit, the anomalies occurred between 2009 and 2014, during the period in which the money was delivered for social works. The judgment adds to a broader anticorruption effort focused on the management of decentralized public funds across the country.
Broader Anti-Corruption Probe
The Public Ministry is currently pursuing investigations into representatives, former representatives, treasurers, and mayors over the irregular handling of funds assigned by the National Decentralization Authority for social projects. So far, prosecutors have filed charges against about 23 former representatives and treasurers in cases linked to alleged peculado involving the Social Interest Program of decentralization.
Those investigations stem from complaints presented to prosecutors by the National Decentralization Authority between 2019 and 2024. The Río Indio sentence is one of the latest outcomes in a series of cases examining how local governments managed public money intended for community benefit.
Why It Matters
The ruling highlights continued scrutiny of decentralized spending in Panama, where local boards and municipalities have been handling public funds for neighborhood and social development projects. Cases like this have become a major test of accountability for local officials entrusted with state resources.