Woman in red exits comptroller post under a cloud

FEDERICO  HUMBERT, Panama’s new comptroller General, has moved into office replacing the woman who might be able to provide clues to the expanding list of revelations of massive cost overruns, fraud corruption, and alleged multi millions theft during the Ricardo Martinelli era.
Gioconda Torres de Bianchini was one of four people called upon to resign by Juan Carlos Varela only two days after his May 4 election victory. The others were Eduardo Penaloza, electoral prosecutor; Juan Carlos Pino, general manager of Tocumen SA; and Supreme Court Judge Alejandro Moncada, currently under house arrest and under investigation for multiple crimes. Pino was the only one to fulfill Varela’s request.
Torres de Bianchini clung to her job in spite of mounting evidence of malfeasance”, and a grilling in the National Assembly where she got to be known as “the woman in red” as she stonewalled or evaded questions .
Torres de Bianchini was named comptroller by the National Assembly in October 2009 with 43 votes. The second, with 19 votes, was deputy Abraham Martinez, who at the time was part of the PRD He later jumped ship to join Democratic Change (CD).
The new comptroller was an old acquaintance of former president Ricarod Martinelli reports La Prensa. She was not only a member of CD – but worked for 15 years as head of the Department of Internal Audit at Ricamar Importer, one of Martinelli’s companies
Her son was also a beneficiary of the President’s largesse , and was appointed consul in Argentina, a few months after his mother took over the institution..
In August she appeared before the National Assembly for two days -15 hours- She spoke much and explained little. “I don’thave that information,” “do not have that data” and ” will investigate” were the Torres de Bianchini responses to most questions says La Prensa When she appeared cornered, she claimed that she always acted legally.
The Martinelli administration was characterized by the lavish use of public funds without oversight and control. Not only invested more than $13 billion on his signature works but disbursed several billion more in depth studies, consulting, assessments and with many legal figures.
One of the keys that allowed this behavior was that the government, through its flock in the National Assembly, several times amended the procurement law to ease direct contracting.
Using this model, many institutions awarded contracts which came under investigation: ‘’Consulting’’ for the Ombudsman Patria Portugal; “Training” for Giselle Burillo at the for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Authority; The million dollar web site for Salomon Shamah’s Tourism Authority; Tear gas and spy equipment for José Raúl Mulino in the Ministry of Security; Giacomo Tamburrelli (PAN) , and many others. All carried the endorsement of Torres de Bianchini as the highest authority of the Controlaria.
The main reason that the name of the Comptroller appeared on allegedly irregular contracts was because the previous controls, allowing detailed analysis of the services or products purchased to meet the needs of the state, were amended to ease direct contracting.
During questioning in the legislature, the comptroller accepted that her role at the head of this institution was limited to reviewing contracts that meet the administrative requirements, but not that prices matched the supply market, nor that companies had a proven history. “I can only do what the law tells me,” she repeated again and again as, dressed in red she defied her questioners.
The following week, several deputies drafted a letter in which they requested her dismissal by the Supreme Court. “Situations and events that may eventually constitute crimes against public administration in all its forms … which would warrant removal from office without prejudice to any criminal liability or other measures that have been incurred are off” the letter said. But with the CD dominating the legislature it died at birth.
Torres de Bianchini, however, remained at her post despite research that has emerged over major contracts she signed. Never mind that her name appeared as scandals were uncovered , nor that the former director of PAN Rafael Guardia, for whom she endorsed several contracts, is now in jail, says La Prensa
True to the appointment of Martinelli, the comptroller fulfilled her five years in office and even with an illness that hospitalized her twice, arrived on December 31, 2014, at the end of her term controlling public finances.