Varelas discretionary hand outs near $15 million.

PRESIDENT  Juan Carlos Varela distributed $5 million  in “discretionary” spending in the first  nine months of the year, up from $3.4 million  in the same period in 2015.

Since taking office Juan Carlos Varela has spent $14.9 million.

A report from the Presidency reveals that between July and September 2016, the institution disbursed $2.2 million in discretionary funds.

According to the breakdown of expenditures published on the website presidencia.gob.pa, this amount included $201,000 in local medical expenses, $500,000 in medical expenses abroad and $717,000 in “disaster mitigation.”

Also, $147,000 was spent on local educational assistance, $441,000 in sponsorship of cultural and sports activities in Panama, and another $251,000 for foreign activities of this type.