Ex-deputy finance minister cooperating with investigators

FORMER Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Gladys Cedeño is cooperating with anti-corruption investigators and is being held under house arrest, while her former boss, Finance Minister Frank De Lima remains in custody.

Her lawyers say that she did not have any authority to make budget decisions while in office.
“It is a question of hierarchy,” said Natividad Cruz on TVN on Tuesday, May 19, “The order was given by the minister, who makes the decisions regarding any situation with respect to budget allocations.”
Cedeño and the former minister have been charged with altering budgets to ensure that a $4 million contract issued by the National Assistance Program was broken into sections of less than $300,000. This meant the contracts would not have to be approved by the National Assembly Budget Committee.
Cruz said that Cedeño gave technical advice to De Lima, but her opinions were not binding.
“A deputy minister does not make any type of decision,” the attorney said. “It was the minister who made the decision.”