Complaint filed against the Minister and Vice Minister of Health for restrictions in Panama and Panama West
A criminal complaint for the alleged commission of the crime of abuse of authority was filed before the Public Ministry against the minister and the deputy minister of Health, Rosario Turner and Luis Francisco Sucre, after measures restricting personal mobility in the provinces of Panama and Panama West was published 7 June.
The complaint, presented by the lawyer Roberto Ruíz Díaz, states that the restrictions ordered by Turner and Sucre are "discriminatory and lacking legal validity" and that they were not empowered to do so, since - through Resolution No. 492 - they modified executive decrees 507 of March 24, 2020 and 644 of May 2020, bearing the signature of President Laurentino Cortizo.
Through Resolution No. 492, the Minsa restricted the mobility of the population of Panama and Panama West, according to gender and the last number of the ID. Likewise, it dictates a curfew for all the weekends of June, from 5:00 pm on Saturday to 5:00 am on Monday.
For the rest of the country, the curfew is from Monday to Sunday, from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am. This measure is also in place in Panama and Panama West, from Monday to Friday.
Ruiz Diaz maintains that the regulatory power to change, modify or alter the content of an executive decree is through another administrative act of the same hierarchical level and not through another, such as a ministerial resolution, so its content it would be contrary to the legal system.
He points out that Turner and Sucre exceed their function, assuming powers that, although they must be dictated by the Ministry of Health, must have the endorsement of the President of the Republic.
At the same time, it ensures that the measure discriminates against two provinces in relation to the rest of the country, without a legal and health support to determine that its inhabitants cannot circulate freely, according to Diaz.
Riaz stated that the Article 19 of the Constitution details that there will be no privileges or discrimination based on race, birth, social class, sex, religion or political ideas, so the actions of the Ministry of Health are clearly illegal when applying mobility restrictions.
Through Resolution No. 492, the Minsa restricted the mobility of the population of Panama and Panama West, according to gender and the last number of the ID. Likewise, it dictates a curfew for all the weekends of June, from 5:00 pm on Saturday to 5:00 am on Monday.
For the rest of the country, the curfew is from Monday to Sunday, from 7:00 pm to 5:00 am. This measure is also in place in Panama and Panama West, from Monday to Friday.
Ruiz Diaz maintains that the regulatory power to change, modify or alter the content of an executive decree is through another administrative act of the same hierarchical level and not through another, such as a ministerial resolution, so its content it would be contrary to the legal system.
He points out that Turner and Sucre exceed their function, assuming powers that, although they must be dictated by the Ministry of Health, must have the endorsement of the President of the Republic.
At the same time, it ensures that the measure discriminates against two provinces in relation to the rest of the country, without a legal and health support to determine that its inhabitants cannot circulate freely, according to Diaz.
Riaz stated that the Article 19 of the Constitution details that there will be no privileges or discrimination based on race, birth, social class, sex, religion or political ideas, so the actions of the Ministry of Health are clearly illegal when applying mobility restrictions.