https://www.prensa.com/judiciales/capturan-al-representante-de-barrio-colon-por-el-escandalo-de-los-auxilios-economicos-del-ifarhu/

The representative of Barrio Colón, Héctor Sambrano , who was director of Scholarships and Assistance at the Institute for the Training and Utilization of Human Resources (Ifarhu) in the previous government, was arrested this Friday, September 19, for irregularities in the granting of financial aid.

Sambrano was located at a residence in the San Francisco district by agents from the Judicial Investigation Directorate (DIJ) of the National Police and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office , the Attorney General’s Office confirmed.

At the same time, Rosalinda Rivera, the former finance director of Ifarhu, was also arrested in the province of Chiriquí. The operation was dubbed ” Return 2.0 .”

Both were handcuffed and guarded by officers, and will later be brought before a magistrate for hearings to determine charges and impose personal protective measures.

Sambrano is very close to the former director of Ifarhu, Bernardo Nando Meneses , who has been in preventive detention since June 8 while being investigated for alleged unjustified enrichment . In 2022, during Meneses’ temporary absence, Sambrano even served as acting director.

Both are members of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and were candidates in the May 2024 elections: Meneses sought a seat as a deputy in the 13-1 district, and Sambrano was a candidate for representative of Barrio Colón. Meneses lost the election; Sambrano won.

For example, in the Arraiján district, which corresponds to circuit 13-1, Ifarhu awarded more than 22,260 scholarships in less than four years.

Meanwhile, in La Chorrera , 25,897 scholarships were distributed. That district, specifically the Barrio Colón district , is Sambrano’s political stronghold.

In total, between 2019 and 2023, Ifarhu, under Meneses’s direction, distributed 397,960 scholarships, financial aid, and other assistance throughout the country through the assistance program for vulnerable and at-risk populations, according to a report from the organization itself.

To give you an idea, Arraiján has a population of 191,551 voters; San Miguelito has much more (251,303 voters). However, in Arraiján, 22,264 scholarships were awarded between 2020 and 2023 , representing 11.6 per 100 voters, while in San Miguelito, 15,558 scholarships were awarded, representing 6.2 per 100 voters.

It is also noteworthy that in Barrio Colón, 10,112 scholarships were distributed between 2020 and 2023, which is equivalent to almost 40% of the 25,897 scholarships distributed throughout the La Chorrera district during that period.

With the change of government, the new IFARHU authorities discovered that the previous administration had committed irregularities, including scholarships granted without financial backing, affecting some 200,000 students; financial aid provided without any technical or socioeconomic support; debts of $34 million to businesses where PASE-U benefits were exchanged; overdrafts in operating and rental accounts; and misuse of the institution’s resources.

Monica Palm

Director of the investigative unit