The chancellor attended this Monday the special commission of the Assembly that investigates the handling of the pandemic. In the afternoon, they received the Minister of Tourism and the director of the ISSS, who were also summoned for coercion.
For Monday, January 18, the special commission of the Assembly that investigates the handling of the pandemic by the government summon the following officials urgently: Bruna Valdez, Minister of Tourism; to Chancellor Alexandra Hill Tinoco; and the director of Social Security, Mónica Ayala Guerrero.
The three officials responded to the commission’s call this time and showed up. First it was done by Chancellor Hill Tinoco and then, in the afternoon, the Tourism and Social Security holders entered at the same time.
According to the president of this commission and deputy of ARENA, Emilio Corea, the civil servants were summoned by constraint by their contempt for not attending the multiple calls made by the special commission.
I’LL SEE: Chancellor, Minister of Tourism and Director of the ISSS are called for coercion in the Assembly
During her appearance, Chancellor Alexandra Hill Tinoco reported that between March and September last year, 7,289 Salvadorans who were stranded in 47 countries by the pandemic had already been returned with the help of the Chancellery in El Salvador. .
However, for the Korean MP there is a contradiction between the number of people Migration informed them of returning to the country. According to Korea, Migration handles more than 46,000 compatriots.
Tinoco argued that Chancellery carries out different processes. “7,289 was the number of people whose return was provided by the Chancellery. Migration and Foreigners facilitates another type of entry into the country, of which we have no legal competence,” the official justified.
He added that repatriations were made from 47 countries, through 68 flights, 17 processes were by land, 85 were between April and September.
Repatriations took place from countries in Central America, the United States, Mexico, Canada, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
“We were facing a global crisis where we had to talk to country leaders and airline representatives, it was a complex process that didn’t just depend on us,” the chancellor commented.
On the other hand, Hill Tinoco reported that only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent $ 274,343 on the purchase of food, accommodation and medicines for stranded overseas due to the pandemic.
According to him, he is not aware that there are more Salvadorans who have not been able to return, since in September Comalapa International Airport opened its borders.
On the plan that the Constitutional Court ordered him to present for the return of the stranded, he assured that it was presented and approved by the Supreme Court of Justice, however, the deputies reminded him that they did not have it. The official explained that she did not remember committing herself to the deputies to give.
Korea then read a letter from the police director stating that it did not comply with leading the officers with constraint because they arrived at their will.
In the case of the Chancellor, the official had been absent 4 times already in the mandate of the special commission. By law, such legislative commissions are empowered to order ministers or other public officials to appear in the Assembly.
The Tourism official, for her part, had to answer for the expenses made with public funds to hire hotels to which the people who tested positive for COVID and to those who entered the country after the closure of the ‘Airport and borders due to the pandemic.
The director of Social Security had to explain how the government will repay the funds it has provided to the new El Salvador Hospital, among other issues, such as the availability of COVID tests for staff and beneficiaries of the ISSS.
SEE: Deputies summon Minister of Economy and Mario Durán to report on use of funds in the pandemic