A proposal in Panama seeks to make paternity fraud a criminal offense. This initiative has generated mixed reactions as it addresses sensitive issues involving family, children's rights, and criminal justice. One of the central axes of the project is the elimination of the deadline to challenge paternity when it is proven that there was deception or concealment of the truth. A bill presented to the National Assembly proposes sanctions of two to five years in prison, in addition to economic fines, for those who deceive a man and induce him to legally recognize as a child a minor who is not his biological child. This initiative, identified as Bill No. 333 and presented by Deputy Jairo “Bolota” Salazar Ramírez, aims to close legal gaps that currently allow this type of deception to go unpunished criminally. However, the child's right to know their true identity and claim biological filiation is guaranteed. The project contemplates aggravating circumstances that would increase the penalty when the deception has lasted for more than five years, there is more than one minor affected, or a repeated economic benefit has been obtained from the fraud. An unjustified refusal to undergo these tests will be considered a serious indication within the judicial process. In case fraud is proven, the proposal orders the cancellation of the filiation in the Civil Registry and the elimination of the man's future legal obligations. This would allow the affected man to go to court even years later, as long as he proves he was a victim of paternity fraud. The bill establishes the mandatory nature of scientific DNA tests, which may be ordered by judges, even ex officio. Deputy Jairo Salazar recognized that his proposal to criminally sanction paternity fraud generates discomfort, but he assured that the country cannot continue to ignore a reality that, he said, is causing deep emotional damage to many men. "This is going to conflict with people who don't want to hear it, but that's who I am," he affirmed during his speech in the Plenary to support the bill. Salazar also stated that the law has a preventive and punitive character, with the objective of curbing deception.
