Varela spent $ 37.1 million in 45 months.

Varela’s government spent $ 37.1 million on discretionary items in the last 45 months.

As of March 31st, President Juan Carlos Varela has spent $ 37.1 million in discretionary funds since he took office on July 1, 2014.

The Secretary of State Communication reported that the expense, for the first quarter, January 1 to March 31, 2018 totaled  $ 2.7 million.

So far the quarterly reports of this line item has not been published on the website of the Presidency of the Republic, however, the State Secretariat of Communication said that it will be available in the Transparency section "in the next few hours".

So far,  Varela has disbursed $ 37.1 million in discretionary expenses.

From January-March 2018,  70% of the expenses correspond to medical services in Panama and abroad.

The funds were also  used for the mitigation of natural disasters, such as the purchase of water for the provinces of Colon and Los Santos, products used by the Joint Task Force during the four days of Carnival and support for the victims of the fire that occurred. in the building of La Boyacá, in San Felipe ", says the Secretary of Communications in a press release.

What Varela has spent so far is already higher than the discretionary amounts disbursed by former presidents Ernesto Pérez Balladaresat $25 million (1994-1999), Mireya Moscoso $23 million (1999-2004) and Martín Torrijos $22.3million  (2004-2009), but less than that Ricardo Martinelli which spent $55.7 million during his reign  from 2009-2014, more than double than each of his predecessors.

Pérez Balladares disbursed $ 25 million; Moscoso, $ 23 million; Torrijos, $ 22.3 million, and Martinelli, $ 55.7 million, more than double each of his predecessors.