Auditors at Assembly to check ballooning contracts

Auditors from the Comptroller General’s office arrived at the  National Assembly on Monday, April 2 to begin the audit of the controversial form 080 that contains the contracts of the staff of the 71 deputies.

Assembly president Yanibel Ábrego said in a statement that the  review ” does not constitute or have the characteristics of an action of a criminal or disciplinary nature against any deputy nor any member of the Assembly. ” That,” she added , “is the responsibility of the Supreme Court”

She indicated , reports La Prensa that she is willing to collaborate and support the administrative diligence “so that it is carried out in expeditiously and without setbacks “.

The payroll increased from 2015 from $4,000   a month (per deputy) to $30.000 thousand per month.

At the end of March, the comptroller Federico Humbert reported that after  a preliminary  review pf the  documents:

“We found that in many cases the necessary controls are not available to confirm the provision of the services contracted under the purpose of 080 expenditure referring to other professional services”.

The Comptroller’s staff will have the mission of reviewing the expenses process of the form. The increase in the amount related to the form was announced last January by Panamenista deputy José Luis Varela, after the Assembly, rejected the nomination of two lawyers for seats in the Supreme Court.