Bill 412.

Summary.

The bill designates October 28 of each year as the Day of the Ngabe-Buglé and Campesino Traditional Dress Parade. It locates the parade in Chichica, Muna District, Ngabe Bugle Comarca, and aims to preserve and pass on the history, use, materials, and making of traditional dress. It provides for public, autonomous, semi-autonomous, and municipal institutions, public and private educational institutions, and traditional comarca authorities and institutions to carry out related cultural and educational activities. Starting in fiscal year 2026, the State, through the Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá), would allocate 25,000 balboas (B/.25 000.00) each year to promote and hold the parade; those funds could not be used for other activities.

The bill establishes a Board of Trustees with representatives of the Kodri Regional Congress (Congreso Regional de Kodri), the traditional authority, artisans, the Comarca Municipal Council (Consejo Municipal de la comarca), the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias), the Panama Tourism Authority, and the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), as well as 5 members appointed by Chichica’s civic committees. Its members would serve 2-year terms and could be immediately reappointed once. The Board of Trustees would organize the parade, promote cultural, commercial, and educational activities in the Ngabe-Buglé and Campesino comarca, coordinate public and private support, manage resources, and submit annual reports and audited financial statements.

The Board of Trustees’ assets would include acquired property, donations, state contributions, and income from activities. The bill grants it tax exemptions for its activities and property; municipal exemptions would be formalized through agreements with each municipality. It also allows contributions and donations to the Board of Trustees to be deducted from income tax, and allows participating companies and organizations to deduct the costs of infrastructure on the Board’s land from their taxes, subject to certification by the Board.

The Board of Trustees would be administered by a Board of Directors, an executive director appointed for up to 3 years, advisers, and administrative units. The Board of Directors would have a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and auditor, elected from among the members of the Board of Trustees for 2-year terms. Each member could stand for only 1 position per election period. The president would serve as legal representative, with the vice president acting in the president’s absence. The Board of Directors would direct approved activities, administer resources, apply regulations, and establish committees; the executive director would implement its policies and organize the parade and planned programs. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would issue regulations for the proposed law, which would take effect on the day after its promulgation. Given its content, the bill concerns the named public institutions, comarca authorities, educational institutions, artisans, municipalities, and the cultural, tourism, and commercial sectors.