Liberty Foundation attacks lockdown by decree

The measures imposed as a result of the coronavirus crisis  have introduced  series of challenges to the constitutional guarantees and “there is concern among civil society organizations regarding the precedents that these measures maylead to  in the future. ” says Panama’s Liberty Foundation.

“ The way these restrictions have been issued lacks legal validity since they  have been given through executive decrees and not through the mechanisms specified in the Constitution for this purpose, which constitutes a violation of the Magna Carta of Panama, ” said in a statement on Saturday June 13.

The  Ministry of Health again this week established a restriction on the mobility of citizens as well as a curfew, as a measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus . The mobility is by gender and ID number.

“We know that it is a complex and unprecedented situation, but it is vital for the protection of citizens that the government acts within the constitutional framework requesting the collaboration of citizens and taking strict sanitary measures, without violating constitutional guarantees,” said Roberto Brenes, legal representative of the Foundation.

“From Fundación Libertad, we seek transparency and consensus regarding the decisions that impact us all and educate the population of their rights and responsibilities,” he added.

Since the promulgation of Cabinet Resolution No. 11 of March 13, 2020, where the State of Emergency was formally declared, based on article 79 of the Public Procurement Law, without mentioning article 55 of the Constitution – The Foundation says  – a series of controls have been implemented that suspend free transit, peaceful assembly, as well as the exercise of professions, generating “multiple economic and legal consequences” for Panamanians.

“The violation of constitutional freedoms creates a disastrous precedent for democracy and leaves citizens defenseless against future abuses of power,” Brener  said.

Since  March to more than 10 legal actions have been filed before the Supreme Court against different decrees issued by the Executive. Among all the controversy over the legal procedure of the State organs, “the choice between the protection of health, which is the intention of these decrees, and the economic reactivation, as well as the restitution of more than 230,000 contracts, was presented workers across the country. ”

In the opinion of Fundación Libertad, the measures imposed by the Ministry are “unrelated to the reality of Panamanians” who must work “to bring bread home” and social aid “are not in harmony with the dignity of their beneficiaries,”