Lawyers Assc. fears prosecutor will hide evidence

THE EMBATTLED but unrepentant electoral prosecutor Eduardo Peñaloza, is again firmly in the sights of the National Bar Association (CNA ) which has called for his suspension from office to avoid possible tampering with evidence.

 CNA president), José Alberto Alvarez, has asked Attorney General Kenia Porcell to order the suspension as “precautionary measure” to “prevent circumvention of the course of justice “and obstruction of the presentation of evidence made by the Public Prosecutor. “
According to Alvarez, the application also aims at avoiding the hiding of information or disappearance of evidence.
 In August 2014 the CNA charged Penaloza with of abuse of authority and violation of the duties of public servants, for his lack of action in response to allegations of use of state resources by the ruling party in the 2014 elections.
The then Attorney’s General, Ana Belfon, asked the Electoral Tribunal (TE) to lift Penaloza’s immunity, The request was granted on January 6
Peñaloza is also being investigated by the MP, following a complaint by Carlos Eduardo Rubio, leader of the Popular Party, also for alleged inaction.
The lawyers’ guild not only called for the separation of Peñaloza, but provided documentary evidence, including records of invalidity of elections for deputies and representatives in the last election. The ANC argues that Peñaloza did not participate in the tests conducted by the TE and, on the other hand, merely stated that “he reserved his opinions”
During the election La Prensa carried a story about the number of his relatives working for the Martinelli administration. He launched a suit against the newspaper, but soon withdrew it. Since then he has been mired in controversy after appointing a substitute prosecutor and then leaving for 4 months’ vacation, but cut it short when a government appointed substitute was being installed. His deputy tried to bar CNA board members from the proceedings.