Deputy defends hand-outs to constituents

Democratic Change (CD) deputy Mark Gonzalez on Saturday March 2,  defended the practice of he and his colleagues asking for government funds to give gifts to constituents.

The practice is not contained in the Constitution of Panama. "If I were to legislate it would be different. People today would not have these wheelchairs or a lawnmower for the unemployed. I have to solve it " said Gonzalez said after giving away 15 wheelchairs and five lawn mowers to residents of El Martillo in Victoriano Lorenzo township (San Miguelito), a sector in which 47% are unemployed, according to the Comptroller General the Republic.
Gonzalez, arrived at the photo op scene where items were to be presented in a $70,000 thousand car, said La Prensa. He also referred to threats he had made to La Prensa to mobilize people to blockade the newspaper building to "draw attention to the slanderers." after it published a series of articles claiming that CD deputies has received hundreds of millions of dollars for handouts without financial supervision . We are in a discussion mood . I do not think we are going to do, it " he said. He had made the threat while venting an attack on media in the National Assembly.