More respect demanded from Assembly leader

SERGIO GÁLVEZ the bellicose president of Panama’s National Assembly, renowned for his forceful verbal outbursts, has once again come in for criticism from many quarters.

Months after declaring that he would adopt a less confrontational approach with journalists and would treat them like “ladies” he lashed out on Wednesday, July 18 against two media reps and said he would never grant them an interview.

On Thursday, Angelica Maytín, head of the Transparency International chapter in Panama, described as "unfortunate" statements, against journalists Flor Mizrachi who moderates a radio interview program and Alvaro Alvarado, a TV reporter.
Such statements are constant said Maytín and asked Galvez for more respect, not only for journalists but for civil society in general.
She said that journalists have a job to do and "we do ours."
Maytín said that a function of the National Assembly is the control of the officials that they ratify. That's why the citation of Ombudsperson, Patria Portugal was made. There have also been demands to call Ho Enrique Fernández director of the Garbage Authority , and the Comptroller Gioconda Torres de Bianchini, who endorsed the onerous [Portugal] contracts.
There is an obligation to call these officials to account, she said.
Meanwhile, Alvarado, on the morning news driving on FOX Report, told Galvez that: "in any serious country in the world, you would never have come to preside over such an important organ as the National Assembly.”
Galvez was recently re-elected to the post by his fellow CD lawmakers, and immediately threw a street party in Chorillo where gifts and money were distributed to supporters. At Christmas he was challenged over the distribution of $675,000 worth of hams to constituents, paid for out of the public purse.
Alvarado called upon Galvez to elevate the discourse, in the "short time" that he remains as chairman of the Assembly.