President José Raúl Mulino addressed various topics in his weekly conference, including a reduction in the prices of 20 medicines, an audit of Suntracs, the beginning of the construction of the Roberto Mariano Bula stadium in Colón and Panama’s diplomatic relations with the United States and China.

Mulino announced a reduction of 29% to 86% in the price of drugs used for respiratory diseases, diabetes, depression, anxiety, as well as analgesics and antibiotics. These discounts will apply only in the 110 pharmacies of the Ministry of Health (Minsa).

Regarding the recent protests on Balboa Avenue, near the Children’s Hospital project, the president warned that they could have ended in tragedy. He requested a thorough investigation to identify those responsible for damage to public property and serious injuries to police officers.

As for the unions, he ordered an audit of the entity in charge of regulating the subsidies, considering that these funds come from the common citizen. “Yesterday’s events, in addition to being intolerable, will not be allowed in this country,” he emphasized.

Regarding international relations, Mulino said that, despite recent tensions with the United States, contact with US officials is maintained, although indirectly. In addition, he reiterated that, although Panama withdrew from the Silk Road, diplomatic relations with China will continue. “I was not the father of that creature, but the relationship with China is maintained,” he said.

Finally, the president announced the beginning of the construction of the Roberto Mariano Bula stadium in Colón, a project delayed by more than a decade due to legal problems with the construction company. He reported that the cost of the work went from 15 to 30 million dollars due to these delays.