Panama: Slowness of anti-corruption bill debates questioned

Panama City, Sept 9 (Prensa Latina) Independent lawmakers such as Janine Prado questioned the slowness of the debates on anti-corruption bills in Panama's legislative plenary session, blaming Luis Eduardo Camacho, president of the Government Commission. According to Prado, quoted by the newspaper La Prensa, despite the fact that Attorney General Luis Gomez defended bills such as the General Anti-Corruption Law and another bill to amend articles of the Penal Code related to crimes against public administration before the National Assembly (parliament), these bills are still awaiting analysis.

September 9, 2025
09:30

These initiatives were presented on July 24, and it is unknown when they will be discussed in the first debate, despite a letter sent by Gomez to Camacho in which he points out the urgency of evaluating them given Panama’s critical position on the Corruption Perception Index, where it scored 33 points, placing it below the regional average.

The legislators link the presence of Camacho, from the ruling Realizing Goals (RM) party, for the second consecutive time leading the working group, as an obstacle and hindrance to these regulations.

However, they point out their interest in proposals such as an amnesty bill that would benefit former presidents Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), leader of RM; and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019), of the Panamenista Party, convicted of money laundering.

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