Former President of the Republic Ernesto Pérez Balladares stated that he feels honored that Panamanians consider him to be the right person for the country to move forward if the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, is absent.
However, he said that “that would be a political trick that does not need to be done” and that in his opinion it is not acceptable. He stressed that if President Cortizo, for whatever reason he could not finish his term, “obviously the one who must complete it is Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo.
“I am very grateful to the people who, in one way or another, think that I can help solve national problems, but seen coldly, that is not possible; For me it is not possible, that would be a political trick, ”she specified.
Pérez Balladares said that he hopes that with the additional tests that will be done on the president in the United States, it will be possible to determine the appropriate treatment to ensure that he has a long life ahead of him and that it is not necessary for anyone to occupy his position.
He recalled that if the president is absent for more than 10 days, it would be necessary for Vice President Carrizo to occupy the position and if the president’s absence is prolonged, he could end the term as president.
“The one who has to take charge of the country is the vice president, there is no way not to do it, not doing it is a failure against the Constitution and against the law and obviously I am sure that if that were the case that President Cortizo has to stay outside for longer than he plans to do it, the one who would have to take care of it is the vice president reed ”, he concluded.
Pérez Balladares also referred to the statements given by the Minister of Public Works, Rafael Sabonge, on the budget that has been assigned to him of $350 million per year and stressed that with that amount of money, he would have already repaired the holes in the streets. and highways.
“I saw that it was recently given extraordinary credit and I hope it really does the job of plugging the holes in the roads and streets because we are reaching a point of impassable streets and highways and an additional protest is not necessary for us to realize that things have to be maintained,” he said.
