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Also in this section: Torrijos signs law to increase legislators' impunity for corruption by Eric Jackson, partly from other media So much for the "zero corruption" campaign pledge, and his prior pleas that the constitutional separation of powers prevents him from doing anything about the rampant crime in other branches of government. President Torrijos has signed legislation that encourages bribery, extortion and other abuses by legislators by making it harder to investigate and prosecute such things. The legislation strips prosecutors of the power to investigate legislators or their suplentes, or ordinary hoodlums involved in organized criminal activity in which a legislator or suplente is involved, transferring the power of investigation to the Supreme Court. It also provides that a simple majority of the high court magistrates is no longer sufficient to strip a legislator of his or her immunity from investigation or prosecution --- now a two-thirds majority, six of the nine magistrates instead of five, is required. The National Assembly had unanimously passed the new pro-corruption law, and President Torrijos signed it without making any public statement, defense or apology. The law's author, PRD deputy and former high court magistrate Jerry Wilson, argued in the PRD-aligned daily newspaper that he and his accomplices had passed the new impunity measure "with moral authority." His Christian Democrat colleague in the legislature, Jorge Hernán Rubio, figuratively sprinkled holy water on the measure in the same article by declaring that it would set aside all doubts about any proceedings against a legislator. Rubio has a point. The measure is indeed designed to resolve any doubts, so that the bribery, drug dealing, theft of government property, maintenance of phantom employees on legislative payrolls and other abuses that have characterized this and prior assemblies will continued unabated and now virtually unchallenged. First there may be a court test brought by Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez. She said in an earlier message urging the president to veto the measure that the new law is unconstitutional and that she might sue to have it overturned. A challenge could come on an existing case, as in three matters relating to Kuna Yala legislator Rogelio Alba the court had previously approved investigations and sent the files to prosecutors for further proceedings. Now it seems that the retroactive legislation that the president signed will void the investigations against Alba, who was caught in the act of smuggling liquor and cigarettes out of the Colon Free Zone without paying duty and who is also accused of money laundering and abusing his legislative privilege to import duty-free cars. The measure has prompted a storm of criticism from civic groups and anti-corruption activists. Foremost among the critics has been Mercedes Araúz de Grimaldo president of Panama's Colegio de Abogados (bar association) and a former deputy attorney general. She said that the legislation violates the principle of equal justice under law because it creates new immunities for politicians that other citizens don't enjoy.
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