Ban On Alcoholic Beverage Sales in the Boquete District Continues

[NewsLady]

Sales (and Consumption) of Alcoholic Beverages in the District of Boquete Still Prohibited

 

Yesterday (Thursday, May 7th) we dispatched a notice about the lifting of the national level ban on the sales of alcoholic beverages. A link to the official announcement was provided in that notice.

 

Later in the same day, the Mayor of Boquete signed an executive decree (Decreto No. 016, dated May 7, 2020) prohibiting the sales and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the District of Boquete. That order is effective immediately and for an unspecified period of time. Below is another link on Chiriqui.Life (CL) documenting the district level prohibition. Read that posting and the subsequent posting.

http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/14130-panama-and-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/?do=findComment&comment=41154

 

An actual copy of the Decree is provided in that posting on CL. We admit up front that it is very poor quality, but it is readable. We are attempting to get a good quality version. (If any of you have a copy, please provide it to us.)

 

Membership on CL is ***not*** required in order to access this content. However, CL membership is free and opens up access to all of the content on CL. If you wish to register, click on the "Sign Up" icon in the upper right corner on the home page. Helpful hint: to get to the CL home page from anywhere on CL, just click on the masthead photo that displays at the top of every page. Click Here for more information about CL.

 

Bud Huber and Marcelyn Jandreau
Owners/Administrators of Chiriqui.Life 

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Chiriqui.Life

[Penny]

I'm hoping somebody will go to Price Smart or any other store in David today and report back whether they were able to buy their one bottle of vino tinto in David.

[Keith Woolford]

Bit of a trip for nothing if that's the only motive The information is all over the internet.

Sales of alcoholic beverages will continue to be prohibited in the District of David. 

The Municipality of Panama will re-initiate sales this morning.

[Jim Bondoux]

The earlier post says "for an unspecified period of time".

My reading of mayor Josmar Alvarado's decree says that the ban on alcoholic beverages will continue until the National State of Emergency is lifted.

He also set fines for non-compliance (100 Balboas first offense, 500 for the second).

[Jim Bondoux]

Interesting article in La Prensa suggesting that Panama may have a bit of a constitutional crisis. Informal translation follows:

QUOTE

Mayors may not acknowledge the Executive's decision on a dry law?

The decision of the Executive to end today the dry law, was not well received by the Association of Municipalities of Panama. However, the mayors cannot ignore the measure.
By José Arcia - Updated 05/08/2020

The decision of the Executive to end today the dry law, was not well received by the Association of Municipalities of Panama. However, the mayors cannot ignore the measure.

Mayors may be unaware of the Executive's decision on dry law?
That is the opinion of the constitutional lawyer Ernesto Cedeño, who explained in his twitter account that Law 38 of 2000 establishes that the decisions of the Executive are above the mayoral decrees and the municipal agreements.
"In a state of law, even if you do not like a decision of the Executive, you must abide by it," he said.
"The mayors can execute the norms established by the municipal councils that are below what the Executive establishes, the laws and the Constitution," the lawyer noted.
As a result of the fact that the Central Government announced last Wednesday, the lifting of the dry law, some mayors such as the one in Santiago, Veraguas, issued a dry law decree.
For his part, the mayor of Panama, José Luis Fábrega, said that he will abide by the government's decision.

UNQUOTE