The chancellor attended the special committee of the People’s Congress this Monday, which is investigating the handling of the pandemic. In the afternoon they received the Minister of Tourism and the director of the ISSS, who were also summoned under pressure.
Before Monday, January 18, the special committee of the People’s Congress is investigating the government’s approach to the pandemic the following officials said urgently: Morena Valdez, Minister of Tourism; Chancellor Alexandra Hill Tinoco; and the director of social security, Mónica Ayala Guerrero.
This time, the three officials heeded the committee’s call and introduced themselves. First Chancellor Hill Tinoco did it and in the afternoon the heads of tourism and social security joined at the same time.
According to the chair of the said committee and ARENA deputy, Emilio Corea, the officials were urged out of pressure for their disrespect not to attend the multiple calls of the special committee.
SEE: Chancellor, Minister of Tourism and Director of ISSS are urgently called to the Assembly
During her intervention, Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco reported that between March and September last year, 7,289 Salvadorans stranded in 47 countries as a result of the pandemic had already been returned to El Salvador with the help of the State Department.
However, for Deputy Korea, there is a contradiction between the number of people Migration informed them that they have returned to the country. According to Korea, Migration manages to have more than 46,000 compatriots.
Tinoco argued that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has different processes. “7,289 was the number of people whose return was facilitated by the State Department. Migration and foreigners facilitate a different way of entry into the country, for which we have no legal authority, ”the official justified.
He added that the repatriations were made from 47 countries, 68 flights, 17 land trials, 85 took place 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 faced with a global crisis in which we had to speak to the leaders of the countries and representatives of airlines. It was a complex process that did not depend on us alone,” said the Chancellor.
On the other hand, Hill Tinoco reported that the State Department alone spent $ 274,343 on the purchase of food, housing and medicine for stranded abroad as a result of the pandemic.
According to him, he is unaware that there are more Salvadorans who have not been able to return, as Comalapa International Airport opened its borders in September.
Regarding the plan that the Constitutional Chamber ordered him to put forward for the return of the stranded, he assured it was presented and approved by the Supreme Court, but the delegates reminded him that they did not have it. The officer explained that she did not remember committing herself to the deputies to give them to them.
Korea later read a letter from the police director stating that he had not rushed to arrest the officers because they had arrived voluntarily.
In the case of the Chancellor, the official had already neglected the special commission’s mandate 4 times. By law, such legislative committees are empowered to order ministers or other government officials to appear before the Assembly.
The tourism official, in turn, was accountable for the costs incurred by public funds to rent hotels to which the people who tested positive for COVID were taken and those who entered the country after the airport and borders were closed due to the pandemic.
The Social Security Director had to explain how the government will repay the money it has loaned to the new El Salvador hospital, among other things, such as the availability of COVID tests for ISSS personnel and beneficiaries.
SEE: Deputies call on the Secretary of the Economy and Mario Durán to report on the use of funds in the pandemic