BE will vote in favor of the requests for a parliamentary hearing from the Deputy Foreign Minister to Prime Minister Miguel Alves, although it believes that any statements do not replace the “normal functioning of Justice”, and asks that it’s “fast”. .
“We will follow the proposal to come [ao parlamento] of the Secretary of State. We do not believe that this information and this arrival replace the normal functioning of the justice system and that is the fundamental point for us,” said Pedro Filipe Soares, parliamentary leader of BE, in statements to journalists in the Assembly of the Republic.
Miguel Alves is being investigated by the Public Prosecution Service for a promissory note contract he signed when he was mayor of Caminha. PSD and Chega have already filed requests for an urgent hearing of the ruler in parliament.
For the BE, “it is obvious that clarifications need to be made”, but the party does not receive any explanations “from itself”.
“There are investigations and they must be carried out to the end and we hope – and we have made proposals to that effect – that justice is swift in all cases involving all government officials, that is what we have said. In the case of the Secretary of State, I believe it is even more visible than with others that this is necessary,” he defended.
The Deputy Undersecretary of State to the Prime Minister and former Mayor of Caminha, said in an interview with Jornal de Notícias and TSF, released on Sunday, that he was initially silent because he addressed the first statements to the Prosecutor General (PGR) and was equally sure of the legality of the process.
‘The State Secretary’s statements were empty’
When asked whether the statements in question clarify the BE, Pedro Filipe Soares replied not, saying that they were “empty”.
“The Secretary of State’s statements did not contain any content relevant to obtaining more information that was at least plausible for public analysis,” he said.
At stake is the construction of a cross-border exhibition center in Caminha, in the Viana do Castelo district, a work that has not yet started after the preliminary contract between the promoter and the municipality was signed in 2020.
Público reported in the October 26 edition that the municipality of Caminha had made a “dubious advance” of 300,000 euros for the project in question, authorized by the now deputy secretary of state to the prime minister, when he headed that municipality.
The newspaper reported that the payment was made by the municipality in March 2021 to an unknown company and affiliated with businessman Ricardo Moutinho, an investor with an alleged falsified resume.
The weekly Expresso also reported in its October 28 issue that the company in question, Green Endogenous, SA, is part of an investment group “established locally”.
On October 31, the prime minister said in statements to journalists that he maintained political confidence in Miguel Alves.
Source: DN
