“The Fiscal Social Responsibility Law (LRSF) will be complied with and will not be modified,” This is what he assured Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF), Felipe Chapmanto La Estrella de Panamá after being consulted about whether the increase planned within the 2027 General State Budget would generate changes in fiscal commitments.
The clarifications come while the Vice Minister of Economy, Eida Gabriela Sáiz, announced that the budget could register a “slight increase” compared to the $34,901 million approved for 2026.
Sáiz commented that this adjustment responds mainly to special laws and automatic increases that must be incorporated on a mandatory basis.
“The budget will have a slight increase, but it is mainly due to conditions already established within the legal framework,” said Sáiz.
This Monday, Chapman attended the installation of the Economy and Finance Commission of the National Assembly, which he took advantage of to confirm that this week he would be presenting the Budget Bill.
Deputy Víctor de Jesús Castillo Cortez, who will be the new president of the Economy and Finance Commission, specified that before addressing the General State Budget, the commission must process and debate the modification to the LRSF.
“We learned that here a fiscal social responsibility law must first be passed and without that law the budget cannot be passed. We will be very attentive to this law to give it the pertinent debate”Castillo pointed out, pointing out that the organization will act as a rigid filter in the evaluation of economic projects and incentives for sectors such as tourism.
While the president of the National Assembly, Shirley Castañedas, recalled that this commission manages strategic aspects such as the national debt, public credit, the tax system and the review of the State accounts, variables that directly affect the cost of living and the financial sustainability of the country.
The political tone of the day was set by the secretary of the commission, Raúl Pineda, who directed his observations towards Minister Chapman when sectioning the upcoming budget debate.
Pineda maintained that the minister’s “good will” requires an executing team and demanded the inclusion of specific works for areas such as San Miguelito, Changuinola and Colón, focused on school infrastructure, health centers and drinking water projects.
The deputy pointed out that unemployment in San Miguelito exceeds 30% and insisted that the new budget incorporate clauses for State contracting companies to employ labor from popular neighborhoods.
