It also announced that himself and Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo will cut their salaries and costs by 50% for six months; the cut will be 25% for ministers, vice ministers, directors, deputy directors, managers, assistant managers, administrators and deputy administrators. There will be no allowances for officials who are members of the governing boards of government institutions.

That money will be contributed to the Panama Solidario plan, which provides food vouchers and bags to people financially affected by the pandemic.

Cortizo referred to the Covid-19 pandemic as the deepest health, social and economic crisis that our country has experienced. We are experiencing an exceptional episode in human history and also in our homeland; therefore this report to the country has to be different, said Cortizo

he majority of the actions in the eocnomic plan are soft loans to micro, small and medium-sized companies, and entrepreneurs, who according to Cortizo represent 90% of companies and generate more than 70% of the country's jobs. For small agricultural producers, a soft loan program has been created conditional on technical assistance, accompaniment, water harvesting and agrotechnology, "that is, producing more with less." The program, which in its first phase will have $ 150 million for loans, will be administered by the Banco de Desarrollo Agropecuario.

Likewise, he spoke of contributing $80 million from the Panama Savings Fund to reinforce the Housing Solidarity Fund, which consists of the delivery of a $10,000 bonus for the initial payment of people who acquire housing for the first time; Now, that bonus may be applicable to the purchase of residences of up to $ 70,000.

A billion dollars will also be contributed to a special fund to strengthen credit: $ 500 million to guarantee the soundness of the financial system and another $500 million to finance sectors affected by the pandemic, such as construction, commerce, restaurants, hotels and industries, among others. Likewise, those companies that have requested not to pay tax based on CAIR, the General Directorate of Revenue (DGI) will authorize the exception for a period of up to 3 years.

Another point of the plan is the generation of temporary jobs through the rehabilitation and reinforcement of buildings and public infrastructure works, such as the Los Libertadores, Tuira and Chucunaque buildings, the Casco de Colón, among others, conditioned to use the local workforce. Another job generator would be the construction of Line 3 of the Metro, which could start in the summer of 2021 and it is estimated that it will create 5,000 jobs.

The president also referred to the reopening of the economic sectors, divided into six blocks. Nothing more has been known about this plan in the last month. The first of these blocks (which includes electronic sales shops, workshops, artisanal fishing, aquaculture and other services) began on May 13 and the second (construction of public infrastructure, parks, temples), on June 1. There is no date for the reopening of the other four blocks, and Cortizo indicated that this will be done gradually, with prudence and discipline, considering the infection rate of the province or region, the level of risk of the activity, the hospital capacity of the region and establishing rigorous monitoring of compliance with health safety measures.

The reopening may be not only by blocks, but by activities, and he insisted on the need to find a balance between health and economy.

Did we make mistakes? Of course yes. The circumstances are unique and exceptional, since we have never faced a similar situation in the history of the country, said Cortizo.

All the decisions that were made and will be made will be to save lives. Doing nothing was never and will never be an option, he added.

He warned that in the purchase of equipment and supplies required to service the Covid-19, no advance or payment was done or will be done without the countersignature of the Comptroller. He recognized that the urgent reconversion of beds is still needed for critical areas in centers managed by the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund (CSS), and announced that his goal is to do 4,000 tests a day; Currently, an average of 2,500 tests are performed daily. Initially, only 400 tests were done daily.

Since March 9, when the first case of coronavirus was announced in the country, Panama has reported 33,550 infections, of which 631 have died. Cortizo recalled that when the pandemic started, the forecast for Panama was 122,000 infections in May.

Regarding public finances, he remarked that his government assumed a deficit of $2.3 billion in the 2019 budget, and 'inherited' debts with contractors and suppliers for $ 1.8 billion. To face these debts, it was necessary to resort to external financing, which is why Panama went out to international markets in July and November 2019 and March 2020, achieving the total amount of $5.8 billion. He said that in the three months of the pandemic, revenues have fallen $900 million, 50% below what was budgeted. President Cortizo calculates that Panama will decrease 2.2% in 2020, but for the next year he calculates a growth of 4.2%.

He noted that his government has cut up to $2 billion in per diem, travel, vehicle purchases and some investment programs.

Cortizo announced the presentation to the Assembly of several bills: one, on tax relief for MSMEs, through the establishment of a special reduced income tax regime; another, to expand Ampyme's “improving my business” program, which will increase non-reimbursable seed capital from one thousand to $2,000 dollars; another one, to recognize a 10% discount to taxpayers who pay on time, and also another for the development of agroparks, among others. Likewise, the Executive will bring to the Assembly those bills agreed at the tripartite dialogue table.

Cortizo's five-year term ends on June 30, 2024.