The Municipal Affairs Commission of the National Assembly approved in the first debate the bill 796 promoted by deputy Benicio Robinson, which creates the special district of Bastimentos in the province of Bocas del Toro, and also gives life to three new corregimientos in the new district: Bahía Honda, Quebrada Sal and Solarte.
The initiative was supported by Rupilio Ábrego, substitute deputy for Robinson. “This will generate private investment, employment and improve the quality of life of the residents,” he said.
Ábrego showed his colleagues a video in which Bastimentos locals praise the legislative initiative.
In the discussion, the independent deputy Juan Diego Vásquez expressed his opposition to the project. He indicated that he did not agree that the creation of corregimientos is the only way to provide answers to remote communities.
He added that the project lacks a comprehensive analysis. “You have to go to the problem: understand the socioeconomic reality of the communities. Who made the video and who do you think paid for it?” he said.
In his opinion, this project will not solve poverty in these regions.
The new district of Bastimentos, according to the draft, would be segregated from the main district of the province: Bocas del Toro (Isla Colón). Currently, the island of Bastimentos is a corregimiento, and according to estimates by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), in 2020 it had a population of 2,679 people.
