Three political trials and investigating Assemblyman Fabricio Villamar for allegedly obtaining the disability card are the main recommendations of the report prepared by the Health Commission that was put to a vote after eleven weeks of investigations.
On July 14, the plenary session of the National Assembly appointed that Commission to investigate the granting of cards to assembly members and their spouses as of 2013, the date on which the Ministry of Health assumed jurisdiction.
After the investigation process that involved the appearance of senior public officials and assembly members, the Commission, chaired by Assemblyman William Garzón, includes as its main recommendation that the plenary proceed to impeach the Minister of Health, Juan Carlos Zevallos, for non-compliance with express constitutional provisions related to health rights, the obligation to deliver information required by the Assembly, lack of concrete control actions and the application of corrective measures in the issuance of disability cards.
The second political trial they recommend is against the former Minister of Health Catalina Andramuño, also for failure to perform functions in controlling the issuance of disability cards. But unlike Zevallos, the report requests that the file be forwarded to the Supervisory Commission so that the trial process can begin.
The third official who, according to the Health Commission, should be prosecuted is the president of the National Council for the Equality of Disabilities (Conadis), Xavier Torres Correa, for breach of express constitutional provisions constant in Article 156, since it was determined that both the Ministry As the Conadis could not evade their responsibilities, they did not demonstrate that there are strategic preventive actions so that the corruption entrenched in different areas is eradicated.
It also determined that despite the alerts sent by the National Customs Service (Senae) and the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) about the atypical behavior in vehicle imports and the unusual growth of retirements of people with disabilities, neither the Ministry of Health nor the Conadis defined plans and programs to eradicate old practices of improper use of the disability card and prevent the possible committing of crimes classified in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP), such as tax fraud, customs fraud, falsification and use of adulterated documents.
Based on the information provided by the Ministry of Health, the report that was submitted to a vote determined that an irregularity was detected in obtaining the disability card of Assemblyman Fabricio Villamar, a fact that was also reported to the Attorney General’s Office; and, from the information sent by the Internal Revenue Service (SRI) and Senae, that using their disability card they imported a vehicle and obtained tax benefits, for which it recommends that the plenary decide on an investigation process in this case.
