Bill 329.

Summary.

The bill would establish the Living Holy Week Dramatization as a national folk event held each Holy Week in the district of Pesé, province of Herrera. Its purpose would be to preserve, disseminate and promote national folk customs and traditions, particularly those of Catholic men and women in the country. The Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá), Catholic Church (Iglesia Católica), district authorities, playwrights, clubs, associations and other nonprofit organizations established for these purposes would organize related events. During the celebration, bars, gardens, taverns, discotheques and mobile discotheques would be prohibited from presenting artistic groups or playing music inconsistent with the dramatization’s cultural and folk values.

Through the Ministry of Culture and the Panama Tourism Authority, the State would allocate funds in the first half of each year for the bill’s purposes, with a minimum of ten thousand balboas from each entity. These allocations could not be transferred to other activities. The bill would create the Board of the Living Holy Week Dramatization (Patronato de la Dramatización de la Semana Santa Viviente), with its own assets, legal personality and administrative autonomy, to organize, administer and carry out the event. Its objectives would include ensuring the annual celebration, involving regional and national forms of expression, preserving religious, cultural and folk traditions, engaging authorities, the private and education sectors and civil society, and using its resources for the stated purposes.

The Board would include representatives of culture and tourism agencies, district educators, the parish, the mayor’s office, the Pesé Municipal Council (Concejo Municipal de Pesé), independent retirees and pensioners, and nonprofit organizations with related purposes. Members would be appointed by the institutions and groups they represent for a period of three years, with eligibility for one additional period; each would have an alternate. The Board would regulate the selection procedure. Its assets would comprise acquired or donated property, annual contributions from the named agencies, inheritances, bequests, and income from investments, services and activities. The Board would be exempt from taxes and levies, while contributions or donations to it would be deductible expenses for the donor’s income tax purposes.

Decisions would require the approval of at least three members. A board of directors, chosen from the members for a period of three years, would adopt internal rules. Of state funds, 20% would cover administrative expenses and 80% would finance organization and execution; the Board could enter into direct contracts for activities benefiting the festival. The Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) would oversee state-funded assets and funds, could inspect them, and would receive an annual audit report. That report would also be published at the Board’s office and the Municipal Council of the district of Pesé (Concejo Municipal del distrito de Pesé). The bill provides for entry into force on the day after promulgation.

The proposal concerns the named public bodies responsible for education, culture, tourism, local government and fiscal oversight, as well as the Catholic Church, the education, cultural and tourism sectors, entertainment establishments, community organizations and prospective donors.