National Assembly President Denies 'Bottle' Employees Amidst False Labor Registration Claims

Shirley Castañeda, president of Panama's National Assembly, has vehemently denied allegations of "bottles" – individuals registered as employees who do not actually work for the institution – within the legislative body. The issue was brought to the forefront by opposition deputies, primarily from the Vamos party, who questioned its existence.

Castañeda addressed a specific case involving Yulisa Morales, who reported the situation to TVN Media. The Assembly president stated that this case does not represent a "bottle" within the National Assembly. Instead, she attributed it to an error made by the Social Security Fund (CSS) in 2023, during the administration of former president Jaime Vargas. According to Castañeda, the CSS incorrectly registered Morales as an Assembly employee.

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there was a scoundrel who put his name and collected that money that belonged to all Panamanians

Despite Castañeda's explanations, opposition deputy Roberto Zúñiga of Vamos criticized the situation, stating that "a scoundrel put his name and collected that money that belonged to all Panamanians." He urged citizens to check their "Caja Digital" (Digital Box) to prevent similar occurrences and called for those responsible to be "unmasked."

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why are the deputies 'who should defend the Assembly' going out to talk about bottles, when, according to her, there is an file from 2023 that documents an error by the CSS...

Castañeda, however, questioned why deputies who "should defend the Assembly" would speak about "bottles." She reiterated that a 2023 file documents the CSS error and that a statement from the then-director Lau, reiterated by the current director, clarified that Morales was not an employee or a "bottle" of the Assembly. "Therefore, that is an error that we have sent to investigate and such a bottle does not exist in the Assembly," she asserted.

Nevertheless, the report of Morales's case, which shows contributions from alleged National Assembly salaries in 2023, will be investigated by both the Public Ministry and the CSS. The CSS has indicated it is verifying these types of inconsistencies reported by multiple citizens.

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Therefore, that is an error that we have sent to investigate and such a bottle does not exist in the Assembly