Grants director refuses to deliver files to transparency  authority

Bernado Meneses, director of the Institute for the Training and Use of Human Resources (Ifarhu)in a note dated Tuesday, December 6, made it clear to The National Authority for Transparency And Access  to Information (Antai) that he will not hand over the files of 13 people who benefited from juicy financial aid because they are “data personal” and -according to him- it is information that by law cannot be shared,

Meneses cites a law, which indicates that “all types of information in the hands of State agents or any public institution that is relevant to (…) the intimate life of individuals, including their family matters (…) their correspondence and telephone  calls

In addition, he indicates that, in the Constitution, the protection of personal data is considered “a fundamental right of the human being enshrined in its article 29, and developed through current regulations.”

On November 16, Antai requested the director of Ifarhu to provide it with an authenticated copy of 13 files of those close to politicians, among them, that of Diego Ábrego Díaz, son of deputy Roberto Ábrego, who received financial aid of $190,000; that of Kathy Ramos, Director of Gender of the National Assembly ($15,000); that of Paola Testa, daughter of deputy Zulay Rodríguez ($61,000); that of Estefanía Guardia ($99,478), the ex-girlfriend of deputy Juan Diego Vásquez, and that of María Alejandra Panay, daughter of the Secretary General of the National Assembly, Quibián Panay, and former assistant Meneses.

The former Accounts Prosecutor, Guido Rodríguez, said that it is “illegal” not to share the information with Director Fernández. How will Antai be able to fulfill its functions if another state entity denies it access to the required information? he asked himself. He also pointed out that Meneses’ response deserves a writ of habeas data by Antai before the plenary session of the Supreme Court.

“The Data Protection Law is to prevent individuals’ private data from being misused by individuals, but it is absurd to pretend that this protection reaches state entities in their investigative functions,” he said.

lawyer Ernesto Cedeño, who filed the complaint with Antai said, the response is “out of order”, since “no institution in terms of data protection is above Antai“.