Domestic in Boquete on Assembly payroll

A domestic employee – employed by ex-president Mireya Moscoso in Boquete – was one of the people hired by the deputy and vice president of the National Assembly, Leandro Ávila,  as an “advisor” paid with  National Assembly funds under the report heading 172.

Avila was insistent that, although the woman worked in Boquete, nothing was illegal.

The former president Mireya Moscoso issued a statement on Monday, July 2, in which she revealed that the Comptroller’s Office requested information about a domestic employee who worked for her from  2004 at her residence in Boquete (Chiriquí), named Jurado Gómez, in relation to an audit carried out by the institution on the National Assembly (AN) forms.

According to the document, Jurado Gómez received three contracts for professional services in 2015 and 2016. After knowing the fact – that according to the Moscoso statement Jurado Gomez was fired.

She is the sister of an assistant deputy. The new vice president of the Assembly, Leandro Avila, admitted to La Prensa that Jurado Gómez worked for him and that her contract was paid with funds from the 172 contract fund of the Assembly. “My assistant asked me for support for his sister,” he admitted.

He said that the fact of being in Chiriquí did not affect, her contract. “People who are paid under these forms do not have a schedule and can be in any part of the country. The contracts, he said have existed “forever ” and are only subject to the delivery of a report by the person who has the contract. “Nor does it matter if the person is a domestic employee,” he said.

Avila revealed that many deputies have people hired in provinces, outside Panama, although he said he was unaware that Jurado Gómez worked for Moscoso.  If he had known, he said, he would not have given her the assignment. It is not illegal, he insisted, because that happens even in the Presidency.

LaPrensa published on July 3, details of payments to 27  “staff’   by one deputy.

The payment of staff payroll costs (form 080) – and professional services (form172) – – was suspended by the comptroller Federico Humbert, for alleged irregularities in the handling of the funds.

The Assembly claims it will publish the list of payments on its website on July 6.

In recent weeks, citizens and organized groups have promoted a campaign in  social networks for deputies to publish their returns.

So far the deputies who have published their forms are Independent) Ana Matilde Gómez, and Panameñistas José Antonio Domínguez and Luis Barría.

Earlier the comptroller had said “He who has nothing to hide has nothing to fear”