Transparency authority probing mayor's lockdown breach

Panama Mayor José Luis Fábrega is facing an administrative process  launched  By The National Authority for Transparency and Access to Information (Antai) behavior that “goes against the attitude that every public servant should have.”

This, after Fábrega was fined on the  weekend when he was caught on a beach in Coronado (Panama Oeste), during  total lockdown and had reportedly driven through three checkpoints during curfew.

According to Antai, this administrative process is due to breaches of the Code of Ethics for Public Servants.

Fábrega also faces  a criminal complaint filed by lawyer Rosendo Rivera, accusing the mayor of violating article 308 of the Penal Code , as well as a series of Minsa provisions related to the Covid-19 pandemic .

After   a  photo appeared on social media showing   Fábrega on the beach, shirtless and in shorts with no face mask as he was being approached by a  Justice of the Peace and two National Police officers he issued a statement in which he admits the fact and stated that he  had paid the fine.

A  Minster of Health counselor condemned the action and said  no one was above the law.

Antai is also studying two cases of alleged improper use of vehicles assigned to two state institutions.

Other administrative processes that will be initiated by Antai have to do with two cases of alleged improper use of vehicles assigned to two state institutions.

 Antai director Elsa Fernández Aguilar called on all public servants to maintain ethics and to make proper use of the assets assigned to them in this time of the pandemic.

In addition, she asked to avoid actions that could “jeopardize the purpose of the public function, the patrimony of the State or the image that society should have regarding its servers”.