Panama City Mayor Bosco Vallarino Says He Will Send Litter Bugs To Jail

The municipal authorities in Panama City are working on a decree that seeks to punish with imprisonment those who throw garbage on the streets. Mayor Bosco Ricardo Vallarino said in the coming days they would be applying the decree involving arrests. "We're done with applying fines, now we will put them in jail," said the mayor. The only alternative to avoid going to prison would be, in place of the jail term, the litter bugs could pay their sentences with community service by collecting garbage in the rivers and creeks, and sweeping the streets. They also plan to sanction those persons who cross the street without using the available pedestrian overpasses. However the lawyer and unsuccessful Mayoral candidate Miguel Antonio Bernal said Mayor Vallarino has no power to punish with imprisonment those who litter in the streets. "The mayor wants to implement actions that are not his responsibility," said Bernal. (El Siglo)

Editor's Comment: Is Bernal in favor of litter? I guess he missed the part where they said they would be issuing a new decree to cover this. The mayor already has a gang of judges working for him. There is a local "corregidor" (Justice of the Peace) in each section of Panama City, Bella Vista, San Francisco, etc. These guys can and do have the legal power to put someone in jail, although they rarely do. Usually they hand out fines and sanctions, and if there's any criminal activity they pass the case to the Public Ministry for investigation and criminal prosecution. There has been talk for years of doing away with the "corregidor" system. They work good for things like small little local conflicts between neighbors - her mangos are falling into my back yard so make her pay to clean them up - that kind of thing. And, litter is a huge problem in Panama City were people (pigs) regularly and routinely throw their trash in the streets. Hey man, whatever it takes. Start tossing people in jail for a couple of days for littering, and it won't take long for the word to spread. Something has to happen to force a change in the culture, because right now generations of inconsiderate Panamanians have been culturally trained to indiscriminately toss their trash, at will.