Draft bill 192.

Summary.

The draft bill recognizes the November 10 Cultural and Folklore Festival of the District of La Chorrera as a National Traditional Celebration in view of its history and connection to Panamanian traditions. Its objectives include commemorating November 10, 1821, in the process of Panama’s independence; preserving the folklore of the Republic of Panama; passing on cultural knowledge; and encouraging participation by children, young people, artists, cultural practitioners, folklore groups, and community organizations. It also seeks to promote cultural, tourism, and economic activity in the district of La Chorrera and the province of Panamá Oeste. The festival would take place there on November 10 each year.

The bill recognizes the civic and cultural organizing committee as a nonprofit organization with legal personality and its own assets, responsible for organizing, coordinating, and holding the festival. It grants the committee administrative autonomy while providing for coordination with public institutions within their respective powers. The State, through the Ministry of Culture (Ministerio de Cultura), would allocate an annual contribution of no less than 20,000 balboas (B/. 20,000.00), exclusively for organizing and holding the festival. The committee could also receive donations, sponsorships, private contributions, revenue from its own activities, funds under cooperation agreements, and other lawful financing, all dedicated to the festival’s purposes.

The Ministry of Culture, the Panama Tourism Authority (Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá), the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario), and other competent public bodies could provide technical, logistical, cultural, educational, tourism, and financial support under applicable legal and budgetary rules. Any public resources used would be subject to oversight, control, and accountability. In coordination with the committee, the State would promote the festival’s inclusion in national cultural and tourism promotion programs. The Panama Tourism Authority could present it as part of the cultural and traditional tourism offerings of the province of Panamá Oeste.

Each year, the committee would submit a general program of activities to the relevant public institutions. It could also organize competitions, performances, and other events in the official program to preserve, teach, and publicize Panamanian customs, with the participation of artists, folklore groups, educational institutions, and community organizations. Within four months after the festival, the committee would report to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic (Contraloría General de la República) on its use of public funds received from the State. That office would audit the management of those funds. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) would include the necessary appropriations each year in the General State Budget. The proposed law would take effect on the day following its promulgation.

The bill thus assigns roles concerning cultural and tourism activities in the district of La Chorrera, province of Panamá Oeste, to the Ministry of Culture, the Panama Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Agricultural Development, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, and the Executive Branch. Its provisions could affect artists, cultural practitioners, folklore groups, educational institutions, community organizations, sponsors, and the tourism and cultural sectors.