Bill 614.

Summary.

The bill recognizes the Festival del Bollo y el Chicheme Chorrerano as a cultural, culinary, and tourism event in the Republic of Panama and as a representative expression of intangible cultural heritage. It links the festival to the corn-based culinary traditions of the district of La Chorrera. It provides for an annual celebration in May in that district, in Panamá Oeste Province, with cultural, culinary, and recreational activities coordinated by local authorities and organizers. Its objectives include preserving traditional methods of making bollo and chicheme chorrerano, passing them on to new generations, attracting visitors, and encouraging the participation of entrepreneurs, artisans, producers, and regional cultural groups.

An organizing committee would include representatives of the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), the Ministry of Tourism (Ministerio de Turismo), the Municipality of La Chorrera (Municipio de La Chorrera), the Chamber of Commerce (Cámara de Comercio), and civic, folklore, cultural, and artisan organizations. The bill grants the committee its own assets and administrative autonomy. It provides for the State, through the Ministry of Culture, to allocate 10,000 balboas (B/. 10,000.00) annually to organize, promote, and develop the festival, with those funds included in the General State Budget for the fiscal year following promulgation. It also requires the committee to submit an audit report on the state contribution to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) no later than 3 months after the festival.

The committee’s assets could grow through donations and commercial fundraising activities for the festival. The Ministry of Culture could work with the competent entities to establish mechanisms for supervising, monitoring, and evaluating its objectives and resources. The bill exempts the committee’s assets from taxes and levies and provides an income tax deduction for contributions or donations made by individuals or legal entities toward the celebration. The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic would oversee the allocated public funds under the fiscal control rules in force in the Republic of Panama.

The Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación), the Panamanian Sports Institute (Instituto Panameño de Deportes), and other state institutions would make educational or sports facilities available as sleeping quarters for invited groups, subject to prior arrangements between the parties. The committee would receive support from national, municipal, and local authorities, public security authorities, the private sector, and the community. The exhibition and sale of traditional products and the participation of culinary entrepreneurs, artisans, folklore groups, and domestic producers would be promoted. The festival would be declared an event of national tourism interest, and the competent authorities would include it in official calendars and promotional strategies. The Ministry of Culture could coordinate training, documentation, and dissemination of culinary practices; the State and the committee would establish tourism and cultural strategies. The law would take effect on the day after promulgation. Its provisions concern the named institutions and the cultural, culinary, artisan, production, and tourism sectors.