The actors in the distribution of decentralization money in the 2014-2019 five-year period came out to defend themselves.

The $994 million were transferred in a “transparent and lawful” manner, each one raised separately.

Former President of the Republic Juan Carlos Varela defended the management. He did so in a message posted on his Twitter account, in which he took a video of former mayor José Blandon on June 16 about his work as mayor.

“A large part of the works carried out by @BlandonJose were thanks to a serious, transparent and equitable decentralization project, which I promoted as president. Very different from the political management and personal interests of the so-called ‘parallel decentralization’, Varela wrote.

For his part, the former Minister of Economy and Finance Dulcidio De la Guardia assured that the “funds were transferred with equity and transparency, following the provisions of the Decentralization Law.” “The municipalities used it for public investments,” added the former official.

The former Minister of the Presidency of the Republic, Álvaro Alemán, spoke with La Estrella de Panamá and assured that the municipalities were the ones that determined where the decentralization money should be invested.

At each decentralization meeting, a minute was generated that was signed at the end of the respective meeting. “In the minutes is how much money and which municipalities requested it,” he said.

“If someone requests the information through a Habeas data, they must deliver the minutes,” said Alemán, who added that the publication of this information was not mandatory. He clarified that he can only speak for his term as minister that ended in July 2018.

The records of those who speak German must be guarded by the National Decentralization Authority.

In the Alemán administration, according to his explanation, it was only about the use of funds from the real estate tax.

“The municipalities presented the projects and it was reviewed if the projects were in accordance with the law,” said former minister Alemán.

In the distribution of the funds, he explained, was the representative of the municipality of the National Assembly, the representative of the Association of Municipalities of Panama, who today is the mayor of La Chorrera.

On behalf of the Comptroller’s Office there was a representative who did not have a vote, but did have a voice.

“We did not establish what was up to each municipality. That was done based on what the law said,” the former official said.

José Isabel Blandón, mayor of the district of Panama in the five-year period 2014-2019, assures that “in the last government there was no parallel allocation of additional funds to the official community boards, beyond what is provided by law.”

He adds that in La Estrella “they talk about $900 million of “parallel decentralization”, when a very high percentage of that figure they cite corresponds to the amounts set in decentralization, without looking at party affiliation.”

However, the figures published by this means only refer to the amounts transferred from 2015 to 2023, according to information from the Comptroller General of the Republic.

The National Decentralization Authority transfers these funds to the municipalities and communal boards, which are earmarked for sectoral projects of specific actions of the municipal public administration that tend to improve, regulate, create or supervise specific development sectors.

Its purpose is to exploit territorial comparative advantages, strengthen social, educational and health development, and combat poverty.

In addition to promoting the inclusion of young people, people with disabilities, traditionally excluded and marginalized social groups. Provide public services for the welfare of the population.

The law establishes that the sum of $110 million per year will be allocated to each community board and mayor’s office, 70% for investment projects and the rest for operation.

Meanwhile, all the municipalities of the country will be assigned the resources from the collection of the estimated property tax, corresponding to the immediately previous year, including fines and surcharges.