Assembly VP facing Supreme Court probe

A VICE PRESIDENT of the National Assembly is the latest deputy to be caught in the net of Panama’s Comptroller Federico Humbert as he trawls the notorious 080 and 172   report sheets listing scores of millions of dollars spent on often non-existent jobs or projects.

PRD  lawmaker Leandro Avila was denounced last week in The Supreme Court (CSJ). The complaint has its origin after it was known that a domestic worker employed by former president Mireya Moscoso in Boquete, Chiriquí, was one of the people contracted by  Ávila, through funds from item 172 of the Assembly.

The domestic,  Mireya Jurado Gómez, received three contracts for professional services in 2015 and 2016.

After the facts became known Jurado Gómez was fired by Moscoso. At the time Deputy Ávila said that the fact that Jurado Gómez was found in Chiriqui did not matter because the people who are under these forms do not have a schedule nor are they required to call in and they can be anywhere in the country.

Judge, Oydén Ortega, must decide whether or not to admit the legal action against the deputy.

Consulted on the filing  Ávila told La Prensa he was unaware of the complaint against him. “I’m going to make the arrangements to see what it’s about,” he said.