Decyphering the Salvoconducto Request Process

First thing this morning, I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, all raring and ready to tackle this Salvoconducto mystery.  Due to the misuse of the document, MICI had created a stricter Salvoconducto process through their website and today was the first of only two days that anyone had to get our new authorizations.  As a matter of fact, I wrote the email last night, so this morning at 8:00a.m. all I had to do was press “send”.  Within minutes, I had a response via email from them with a link to their website, indicating me to initiate the process of adding our company information to request the coveted documents we needed to operate.

At first, there were a few hiccups in my efforts to access the site.  The information requested includes adding the number of our Aviso de Operacion (Operation Notice) which is processed by MICI.  After several attempts to enter the information, around 1030.am., the website stopped working.  A friend of a friend, who has a cousin that knows the janitor of this guy who works in MICI, told me that they were still working out some kinks on the website but that by the early afternoon, it should be working again.  So, I had breakfast, worked on my golf form and then around 1230p.m., I came back to give it a try.  Sure enough, I got in, everything was smooth, I enter the information and uploaded my employees aaaannddd….

Yep, DENIED!!  What the!?!?  Nobody likes to be denied, but this one floored me.  I was one of the first people to get their Salvoconducto when MICI did their first online request version; I’m proud to say that I’m actually #000000023 out of tens of thousands of people to get the first official Salvoconducto.  Very specifically, today’s attempt indicatedthat my company “Has no activities in the decree”.  Right next to that mega-denial notice, there’s a button you can click on to request a reconsideration.  I put in my request and now we wait.

I feel that I fit within the exceptions being that my company´s activities in this Operations Notice are described as “Industrial Security Advisor and Consultant”; it should fall within the “Private Security” exception.  So, I called up several of my friends and colleagues who I knew were going to have to go through the same process, to see how it was going for them.  Everyone I spoke with was denied their Salvoconducto.  In a group of Human Resource directors, only 1 out of 269 people in that group, reported that they were successful in obtaining their Salvoconductoauthorizations.  (I’m beginning to think that maybe she was just lying to get attention.)  What I think may have happened is that the website wasn’t 100% ready and that everyone just got their salvoconducto requests denied.  I know that MICI has been working very hard on getting this done.  The process was initially based on good faith, but some of the users abused that good faith, leading us to today.  This is the typical end-result of what happens when the “Juega-Vivo” takes over and ruins a good thing for everyone.  Now, we have to resort to bureaucratic processes that make the honest workers, those exceptions to the decree, have to work harder just so they can get food and medicine delivered to those in need.  It makes it hard for a security guard to get to his or her post.

But just to be clear, I do applaud the workers and leaders of MICI for doing what they can to allow the “exceptions” to continue working.  The situation that we’re all in is not easy and your ability to use technology to get us up and running is fantastic.  I’m sure that the system just needs a few more tweaks to get it working properly.  You have our support 100%.  But you Juega-Vivos out there who have been abusing this system, making this hard on the honest people trying to do good for the country, creating a reason for MICI to have to make the system bureaucratic, well, you can all go and “#)/)/%/)#=($!/)”#(“ yourselves.

The President and MEDUCA Lightens the Mood and Gives a Sign of Hope:

My wife was flooded with all kinds of good news today.  The plantains that we’ve been waiting on in the backyard were finally ready enough to pick and enjoy in tonight’s meal.  She’s been waiting on them for nearly a week.  But much more than that she was getting support and positive feedback in her fight to keep our kids in school.  Some of the teachers announced that they were going to give the online classes regardless of what anyone else said.  Her group of “mamitas” from school really came through with petitions and letters to the government, video messages from actual students and it really eased the anxiety that she and several others were experiencing.

Then the news articles starting coming out where the president of Panama, Nito Cortizo announced that either today or tomorrow MEDUCA would announce which schools could continue giving classes:

The President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, said this Thursday, April 16, that between today and tomorrow the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA) must inform the schools that they were complying with the virtual modules so that they can continue teaching.

The president’s words were announced on the tour he made at the Panama Solidario Integrated Hospital.

Cortizo asked private schools to show solidarity with parents who have not been able to pay.

Yesterday, MEDUCA reported that classes were temporarily suspended in private schools and Early Childhood Care Centers (CAIPI), after the evaluation carried out.

Earlier, the Minister of Education, Maruja Gorday de Villalobos had announced on TVN News that, starting Monday, a commission made up of various sectors would analyze the support mechanism they would provide so that private schools could resume the service they offer.

However, after the president’s statements, it will be up to the educational community of these centers to wait between “today and tomorrow” for the announcement of private schools that meet the criteria to continue teaching virtual classes.

https://www.tvn-2.com/nacionales/Cortizo-Meduca-anunciar-particulares-criterios-clases-Coronavirus-COVID-19_0_5557694212.html

This sure has been a rollercoaster and I can imagine that all moms everywhere in Panama look something like this, regardless of whether they’re for or against classes continuing online:

WEEKEND QUARANTINE CHANGES AGAIN!!

I’m all for the measures being taken to restrict movement and lessen the amount of interaction to stop the rise in infections caused by the CoronaVirus.  But, as we play by the rules established by the government, it would be nice if the government would cut us some slack and give us some headsup on these last minute rule changes.  Being the manly man that I am, today was my day to go out, if needed, to pick up food or medicine.  Instead, I decided to stay home as I meddled with the complexities of the salvoconducto and to feed my wife wine as she struggled to keep up with the MEDUCA rollercoaster.  I thought that it would be wiser to wait until Saturday to go to the Machetazo, who would also have some handyman materials that I’m going to need to fix a pinhole leak that I discovered in a PVC waterpipe on the side of the house.  How extremely untimely it was for them to inform us of this change, just 3 hours after it was my turn to venture out, that Saturday was going to be a full quarantine day as well.  And what about equal rights amongst the sexes; men only get 2 days a week and women get 3 days?  Makes a guy want to go out and burn some tires in the middle of the road.

Guys, from now on, we should just expect to not have Saturdays available to go out.

TOP NEWS and TIDBITS:

• THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND APPROVED A REQUEST FOR EMERGENCY FINANCIAL AID by Panama for an approximate amount of 515 million dollars to meet the urgent needs of the balance of payments derived from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• THE COVID-19 EMOTIONAL ATTENTION CENTER, WITH THE ATTENTION OF AT LEAST 30 PSYCHOLOGISTS, IS ALREADY OPERATING IN THE PROVINCE OF LOS SANTOS.  This was reported by Ayvar Hernández, regional director of health of Los Santos, who announced that taking into account that mental health is important for the population and health personnel, the Los Santos technical board joined efforts to make this initiative a reality.  These experts will listen and provide care to patients, health personnel and other institutions that so warrant and are in a state of stress and anxiety.  This Psychological Attention Center will work from 8:00 a.m. at 4:00 p.m. through the telephone lines 994-8555. We have also enabled the WhatsApp line 6374-5236.
• US GOVERNMENT ALLOCATES $ 750 THOUSAND TO OPTIMIZE CAPACITY OF THE PANAMA HEALTH SYSTEM
• MODULAR HOSPITAL FOR CRITICAL PATIENTS WITH COVID-19 HAS 98% ADVANCE – The temporary structure, built in the vicinity of the AlbrookMall, has an approximate cost of $ 6.5 million and will have capacity for about 100 beds.
• IF MEDUCA DOESN’T APPROVE THE CONTINUATION OF CLASSES, ROUGHLY 14 THOUSAND TEACHERS WILL STOP RECEIVING A SALARY AFTER SUSPENSION OF CLASSES IN PARTICULAR SCHOOLS
• SPECIALISTS FROM THE GORGAS COMMEMORATIVE INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH STUDIES ARE STUDYING A CASE WHERE A NEWBORN TESTED POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS.  Doctors specified that they attended five pregnant women who tested positive for the virus. Of these cases, three babies were born well and were negative for the coronavirus, however, another tested positive and the fifth was stillborn.
• THE PANAMA GOVERNMENT HAS STATED THAT IT IS WORKING TO KEEP THE AGRICULTURAL FOOD CHAIN SUPPLIED, buy purchasing 3,200 quintals divided into products such as potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, celery, beets and broccoli from producers in the Highlands in the province of Chiriquí.

STATUS UPDATE:

PANAMÁ EXCEEDS 4 THOUSAND COVID-19 CASES, WITH 109 DEATHS

• 4,016 positive cases
• 265 new cases
• 109 deaths
• 3,483 home isolation
• 326 are hospitalized
• 227 in room
• 99 in intensive care
• 98 recovered by laboratory
• 1,809 clinically recovered

The range of people over 60 years still concentrates the largest number of deaths, “26 cases are of people over 80 years”. The lethality of the disease in Panama stands at 2.6%.

END NOTE:

Furthering my dedication to friends and generally good people around Panama, here’s another shout out to these fine individuals:

• John Brock who just oozes with talent, can seemingly take nothing and turn it into a lot of something.  He definitely did that to a run-down café and turned it into the most talked about Restaurant in Pedasi, SMILEY’S.
• Charles A Garcia, a man whom I’ve known long enough to say that he even removed my wisdom teeth; Charley is one of Panama’s most admirable, good-hearted people I knowwho is capable of giving you the shirt off his back or slapping you silly for saying something stupid.
• Hector Xatruch – a man of faith, conviction, loyalty and just a good true friend.  I always look forward to getting a “Hey dude, what’s up?” message from him.

Thank you all so very much for being the wonderful people that you are, I mean it, you deserve 10 times more of the good things that life has already graced you with.

Stay safe…  Stay healthy…  And by all means STAY HOME!!…