Governor struggles to distance herself from shelters scandal

Carla García who was named Governor of Panama before the shelters scandal erupted is endeavoring to distance herself from her role in the sub-directorate of the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Senniaf) while abuses were committed against children, girls, and adolescents in shelters under the supervision of the institution.

“I don’t want to avoid responsibility for anything. Said García. “I notified the director accordingly because my duties were not supervising the shelters. The law is clear and established that the general director was the one who presided over this commission of supervision and monitoring of shelters. Not a replacement. Not the vice principal. But when Carla García learned of a situation of violation of the rights of a child, I manifested it. Where I realized a situation, I attended to it, ”said García, daughter of the Vice Minister of the Presidency, Carlos García, after explaining that the deputy Juan Diego Vásquez had called her to inform her of a situation in a children’s shelter, whose name she did not provide reports La Prensa.

She said that she notified the case to the Directorate and that they even filed a complaint with the Public Ministry (MP).

-Questioned repeatedly by journalists at a Thursday function – she was missing from the lottery draw on the previous Friday – why he did not report the anomalies detected by the Assembly subcommittee to the MP.  She said:”How am I going to act on something that I didn’t realize was happening (…)?”

She stated that she is at the disposal of the Public Ministry for any requirement and, said she would not have accepted a position in the Executive [Governor of Panama] if she did not have “the dignity” to exercise it.

Between salary and representation expenses, García earned $5,000 a month at Senniaf.  She was appointed Governor just a few days- before a group of deputies from the Commission for Women, Children, Youth, and the Family of the National Assembly released the report.

Meanwhile, citizens continue to demand justice for those responsible for acts and omissions of the alleged abuses committed against children and adolescents.