Page Seven / La Paz
Through a request for a written report (PIE) addressed to the State Attorney General, Juan Lanchipa, the president of the Government, Defense and Armed Forces Commission, deputy Santos Mamani (MAS), began the audit of the case of the mayor of Colcapirhua , Nelson Gallinate, from Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), recently accused of buying nasal antigen tests with alleged overpricing, reported the state agency ABI.
The Cochabamba legislator also requested information from the Municipal Mayor’s Office and the Municipal Council as part of the follow-up to the process.
“We request all the pertinent information from the Municipal Council and the municipality to have the necessary documentation and accompany this process that is being carried out. The only thing we ask of the competent authorities is that they act with the full weight of the law. We are enemies of corruption, wherever it comes from, it must be investigated and sanctioned,” said Masista deputy Mamani.
The mayor of Colcapirhua was arrested Thursday night along with two other officials, after the Public Ministry and police intervened in the offices of the municipal administration for a complaint of alleged corruption in the purchase of nasal antigen tests to detect Covid-19 .
Mamani explained that according to the general regulations of the Chamber of Deputies, Lanchipa has a period of 10 days to respond to the request for a report that consists of two questions about the criminal process and the measures adopted to safeguard the elements of conviction of the alleged crime.
In the irregular purchase, there would be a surcharge of 130,000 bolivianos for the acquisition of 10,000 tests at a cost of 13 bolivianos each, it was reported.
The director of legal advice for the mayor’s office, Ana María Quiroga Camacho, confirmed the mayor’s apprehension and stated that his legal situation will be defined in a precautionary measures hearing, ANF reported.
