A Bouquet for Withdrawal of Transparency Bill

The President of the Republic listened to the countless voices that demanded the withdrawal of the bill that repealed and replaced the current Transparency Law. He did well because the document sent to the Legislature was a total setback that would abandon citizens in their role as watchdogs of government work. The good sense demonstrated by the ruler in withdrawing the project undoubtedly contrasts with the role that UNESCO played on the one hand in this whole matter until it went so far as to say that Panama had made progress “in terms of legislation on access to information with this proposal… ”, which was exactly the opposite and, secondly, the Ombudsman’s Office that deafened all citizens with its scandalous silence. The great winner of all this fight has been Panamanian society, whose citizens represented by various groups knew how to work together to exercise their rights and duty as guardians of democracy. Congratulations to the president who listened and acted in the public interest. Withered flowers for UNESCO and the Ombudsman’s Office, complicit in the attempt to undermine the right to demand transparency and accountability of an entire country. – LA PRENSA, Sep.15.