Debt of services covered by moratorium must be paid back in 3 years
The payment of public services will resume once the four-month term expires end of June, and the accumulated debt of those who have used the benefit, will be prorated to be paid in a term of three years.
This provision was approved on May 4 by the National Assembly of Panama and sanctioned by the President of the Republic of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, who adopts special social measures for temporary suspension of payment for public services and other measures, referring to the state of national emergency.
The law suspends the payment of energy bill, landline and mobile phone and the internet for a term of four months, starting from March 1, 2020.
The suspension measures will not generate any type of interest or affect the credit history.
The conditions to receive the benefit are as follows:
- the family income received is less than $ 2,000 per month;
- the family income has been reduced;
- the person has had his employment contract suspended;
- the person has been dismissed or is not working due to the declaration of national urgency; or
- the person is retired or receiving pension
The purpose of the measure is to protect those who have lost their job, or their position has been temporarily suspended, including the cases in where the employment contract has been modified, with a reduction in the number workdays.
Likewise, self-employed workers, micro and small companies affected by the pandemic may request relief in their public service payments.
Moratorium can also be applied to owners of restaurants, bars, casinos as well as public and private means of transport that have been affected in their income.
The State will assume the payment of a solidarity bonus for each worker affected by the suspension of their contract, due to the temporary closure of a business for reasons associated with the pandemic.
The law suspends the payment of energy bill, landline and mobile phone and the internet for a term of four months, starting from March 1, 2020.
The suspension measures will not generate any type of interest or affect the credit history.
The conditions to receive the benefit are as follows:
- the family income received is less than $ 2,000 per month;
- the family income has been reduced;
- the person has had his employment contract suspended;
- the person has been dismissed or is not working due to the declaration of national urgency; or
- the person is retired or receiving pension
The purpose of the measure is to protect those who have lost their job, or their position has been temporarily suspended, including the cases in where the employment contract has been modified, with a reduction in the number workdays.
Likewise, self-employed workers, micro and small companies affected by the pandemic may request relief in their public service payments.
Moratorium can also be applied to owners of restaurants, bars, casinos as well as public and private means of transport that have been affected in their income.
The State will assume the payment of a solidarity bonus for each worker affected by the suspension of their contract, due to the temporary closure of a business for reasons associated with the pandemic.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
