Congress members question possible installation bonus for parliamentarians

Congressman Jaime Quito expressed his rejection of a possible installation bonus for parliamentarians and stated that the Congress should promote a policy of austerity in the use of public resources. The legislator argued that congressmen who are already serving should not receive an additional payment for that concept.

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In statements to Canal N, Quito said he had no official knowledge about the approval of the benefit; however, he stated that he does not consider it appropriate to grant an installation bonus to the current members of Parliament.

“I consider that congressmen who are already installed should not receive it,” declared the legislator, who added that Congress must set an example in the responsible management of State resources.

Likewise, he indicated that the public budget should be aimed at addressing the main needs of the population and not at increasing the expenses of the Legislative Branch. In that line, he anticipated that he does not consider it appropriate to receive such benefit.

“We must have a Congress with austerity and force all institutions to also act with austerity”, he said.

Regarding the approval of this type of benefits, Quito pointed out that these decisions are made through agreements of the Board of Directors of Congress. However, he indicated that the next parliamentary management will have the power to review or nullify those provisions.

In that context, he emphasized the importance of the election of the new Board of Directors, considering that its decisions will influence the administration of Parliament.

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Finally, the legislator questioned the possibility that Fujimorism will preside over the Board of Directors of Congress again and stated that the next leadership of the Legislature should prioritize measures aimed at transparency, spending efficiency, and austerity in the management of public resources.

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Other political groups joined the rejection expressed by Congressman Jaime Quito. The Good Government Party announced that none of its elected congressmen residing in Lima and Callao, both deputies and senators, will collect the installation bonus planned for the start of functions of the new bicameral Congress.

This was reported by Jorge Nieto, former presidential candidate and leader of the organization, who stated that the benefit is intended to cover travel and housing expenses of parliamentarians coming from regions, so he considered that it does not correspond to those who already live in the capital. He added that legislators who receive the deposit will return the amount, although he specified that the procedure to carry out such return has not yet been defined.

Along the same lines, the congressman from Popular Renewal, Alejandro Muñante, reported that re-elected parliamentarians and representatives of Lima from his caucus will also not receive the installation bonus corresponding to the start of the new legislature. In statements to Canal N, he indicated that the decision was made jointly by the parliamentary group and has already been publicly communicated. “Congressmen from Lima and re-elected congressmen will not receive the bonus”, he stated.

The congresswoman and elected senator Ruth Luque announced that she will again renounce the installation amount when assuming functions in the new bicameral Congress. She recalled that she made the same decision in 2021, at the start of her first parliamentary term, considering that, after the pandemic, public resources should be allocated to address the most urgent needs of the population.

Likewise, she expressed her expectation that the new Board of Directors of Congress guarantees a “fair and transparent” management of public resources and proposed that the amounts corresponding to legislators who decide not to receive this benefit be returned to the Public Treasury to be allocated, through the Executive Branch, to the most urgent priorities of the citizens.

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