The Chamber of Senators sanctioned the bill “That modifies several articles of Law 5,033/2,013, which regulates Article 104 of the National Constitution, of the sworn declaration of assets and income, assets and liabilities of public officials and repeals the Law 6,355/2019”.
The Upper House could only gather 18 votes while 23 were necessary to approve its own version. With this, the deputies’ version of the initiative was sanctioned.
The difference between both documents is as follows; the Chamber of Deputies established that the declaring official may at any time make rectifications that will be accompanied by documents. While the Senate version establishes that if there are indications that the error is fraud, the Comptroller must denounce the Public Ministry for the initiation of investigations. This is given in article 14 of the law.
In this way, the presentation of the declarations will be a mere administrative procedure. In other words, false sworn statements cannot be criminally punished. In case they present false data, they will be able to make the corrections.
It should be remembered that 13 senators who were able to meet electronically were also absent.
DEBATE
Martín Arévalo, national senator for the ANR (Chartism), affirmed that the modifications established by the Lower House do not imply curtailing the Comptroller’s competence before any crime produced within the DDJJ.
“The Comptroller’s Law itself, in its ninth article, on duties and powers, grants it the power to make ordinary complaints,” he said.
Fernando Silva Facetti, national senator for the PLRA (bench “B”), assured that the version of the deputies is more reasonable since what is established by the Senate is disproportionate.
He compared with the Secretary of Taxation (SET) that allows rectifications and they are not criminally punished.
VOTES IN FAVOR
The 18 senators who voted in favor of criminal punishment for false DDJJ were; Gilberto Apuril, Lucas Aquino, Martín Arévalo, Georgia Arrúa, Enrique Bacchetta, Carlos Filizzola, Amado Florentín, Carlos Gómez Zelada, Patrick Kemper, Fernando Lugo, Desirée Masi, Derlis Osorio, Sixto Pereira, Jorge Querey, Hugo Richer, Enrique Riera, Miguel Fulgencio Rodriguez and Carlos Vidal Zena.
The 13 legislators who were absent were; Eusebio Ayala (absent due to health problems), Enrique Salyn Buzarquis, Sergio Godoy, José Ledesma, Blas Llano (requested permission to travel), Esperanza Martínez, Hermelinda Ortega, Blanca Ovelar, Silvio Ovelar, Stephan Rasmussen, Pedro Santacruz, Octavio Schatp and Fidel Zavala.
