Bill 137.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 1 of Law 10 of 2004 to designate October 15 of each year as a civic day and folk celebration for the National Toro Guapo Festival of Antón. It schedules the festival for the second and third weeks of October in the ten corregimientos (districts) of the district of Antón, province of Coclé, to preserve and publicize local traditions across Panama. It recognizes the Patronato del Festival Nacional del Toro Guapo de Antón as organizer. The association was established under Resolution P.J. N° 775 P.J. 222 of 2005 issued by the Ministry of Government and Justice (Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia), is registered with the Public Registry of Panama (Registro Público de Panamá), and has its own assets and administrative autonomy.

The Patronato would ensure that the festival takes place annually, coordinate cultural activities, and facilitate the participation of exhibitors and folk groups. It would also take measures for participants’ and visitors’ welfare, use its resources solely for the festival, promote research into the celebration’s origins at schools in the province of Coclé, and pursue national and international publicity through the Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo). Its membership would include representatives of the Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá), Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), Municipality of Antón (Municipio de Antón), Antón community board, Municipal Council of Antón (Consejo Municipal de Antón), civic associations, and a folklore specialist appointed by the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación). Members would have alternates, serve for no less than two years, and receive no salary. A board chaired by a representative of the original association would adopt internal rules.

The Ministry of Culture and Panama Tourism Authority would each allocate an annual budget amount of at least twenty-five thousand balboas (B/. 25,000.00); the Municipality of Antón would contribute ten thousand balboas (B/. 10,000.00). These allocations would be reserved for the festival. The Patronato would submit an audit report by December 31 each year to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República), which would oversee state-funded assets and funds and could inspect them. Administrative expenses paid from state funds would be limited to 15% of allocated amounts. The Patronato’s assets could grow through donations and commercial activities. It would be exempt from taxes and levies, while contributions and donations would be deductible from income tax.

The bill confirms existing festival competitions and reserves approval and organization of new ones to the Patronato. The Ministry of Education would allow visiting delegations to stay in schools in the district of Antón, coordinated with the Regional Education Directorate of Coclé (Dirección Regional de Educación de Coclé); delegations would return the facilities in the same condition. The State would include the festival in tourism and cultural plans. The Panama Tourism Authority would encourage tourism agencies to promote it, and the Ministry of Culture would arrange international cultural exchanges when the Patronato considers them appropriate. The provisions would concern cultural, education, tourism and municipal bodies, along with delegations, artisans, civic associations and tourism agencies. The bill amends Law 10 of January 21, 2004, repeals Law 25 of May 22, 2009, and provides for commencement on the day after promulgation.