Judith Pena | January 19, 2023
Once again, the Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, said that the Bill of Asset Forfeiture will not be withdrawn from the National Assembly since it is part of the work plan of the President of the Republic Laurentino Cortizo and has the full support of the Executive .
Pino explained that they have already carried out the due approach and conversations with the deputies to see how progress is being made in the approval of the project, since this is a law of special jurisdiction, “it is a legal law, logically here we are talking about legal issues, not It is a matter of populism,” he said.
He added that the Panamanian State needs this law to be able to anticipate the growth of transnational organized crime.
“We have already said it, it is not written in stone and what we ask for is your discussion, let’s sit down but no, let’s not return the law because otherwise time will not reach us,” he specified, detailing that if the project is returned it would be necessary to start from scratch and resubmit it to the Executive to take it back to the Assembly.
The deputies have held several master conferences on the Asset Forfeiture Law where they have consulted international experts from countries such as Colombia, where the Law has been in force for more than a decade.