This connection weighed on the legislative debate. The manager of MiBus, Carlos Sánchez Fábrega, explained that the contract comes from a tender carried out in 2018 and that it has continued through addenda under different administrations. He pointed out that it was not signed under his initial management, although he recognized that when he resumed the position, the agreement was still in effect. MiBus reported that it has already started procedures to end that contractual relationship and review the security model. However, the service was carried out and the obligation to pay remains, regardless of the political debate surrounding the case. The most questioned point was a disbursement of $369,000 to cover a video surveillance service provided in paid areas and parking lots between 2019 and 2025. The contract generated not only objections due to the amount, but also due to the link of the supplying company with Virgilio Periñán Herrera, son of the Secretary General of the PRD, Balbina Herrera.
Assembly Halts MiBus Funding Over Controversial Contract
Panama's National Assembly suspended MiBus payments for a $369,000 video surveillance contract, sparking a political scandal over the supplier's ties to a high-ranking politician's family.