Angry citizens ask for his resignation due to lack of transparency and the scandals of surrounding contracts with huge price mark-ups in the midst of a health emergency.

The issue sparked after the vice minister of the presidency resigned from office amid controversial intent to buy fans at a premium. With Juan Carlos Muñoz out of the Presidency, several argued that he was not the only one link in the chain. The question was; who is in command of the Ministry of the Presidency?

Gaby Carrizo is also being sued for other transactions: two contracts totaling $2.6 million with the company Mercadeo Integral for advertising, branding, marketing and communication. The last one, worth $1.7 million, was concluded in the midst of the pandemic. The legal representative of the company is Carlos Guillermo De Ycaza, a board member of the National Bank of Panama.

He defended himself: “Our concern as a government is that the media in this pandemic also receive some type of support from the government. And as a result of the payment processes, and as a result of the liquidity of these companies to which they were hired, and who have not yet received a payment from the Government, the entire campaign that serves to save lifes [...]".

He made the comment on April 27 – in the hospital recently built to treat coronavirus patients – a moment before Muñoz's resignation of the vice-ministry of the Presidency was announced.

Carrizo also signed on to acquire eight drinking water generators for $2.1 million, but the deal fell through.

Gaby Carrizo is not just another minister. He donated $100,000 to the campaign of the current President of the Republic. This is where loyalties and old ties come to influence. The Vice President of the Republic has been at Cortizo's side for at least the last 10 years. He accompanied the sitting president in his defeats and political triumphs. If Cortizo were to withdraw his confidant from the Ministry of the Presidency is – for the time being – a tough and complicated issue in the palace.

According to political sources, the vice president continues to carry out his duties as always, although these days, everything is focused on the COVID-19 emergency.

Public criticism is not the only thing that threatens Carrizo's stability in the Ministry of the Presidency. His cold and tense relationship with the leadership of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), a group led by former deputy Pedro Miguel González (secretary general) and who claims "the little room" that the party has in palace and in government decisions. There is even talk of disagreements between Carrizo and the Minister of Health, Rosario Turner, to whom the President gave the management of the health crisis, and who incidentally is part of the National Executive Committee of the PRD.

On April 25, the day the former vice minister Muñoz invited those interested in selling fans to send their proposals, Turner, in a tone that some called sarcastic, said that she had already received two proposals by WhatsApp. Carrizo would later say that he also received proposals from suppliers, but that 95% cannot be specified due to the high global demand for medical supplies.

Yesterday González gave Carrizo a public accolade: "I want to give my vote of confidence, as the party's secretary general and as a citizen, to Jose Gabriel Carrizo who was selected by the presidential candidate, now president Laurentino Cortizo, to accompany him in the leadership. I am sure that Cortizo will be in a position to do everything that has to be done so that the confidence that the Panamanian people have in him is not lost.”