The People’s Parliamentary Group of Congress is watching with suspicion the moves made in the House of Representatives by former Minister José Luis Ábalos, who holds the register of MP in the Mixed Group. Since the beginning of the corruption case opened against him … In the Supreme Court, the former organizing secretary of the SWP addressed several written complaints to the Council over an alleged violation of his parliamentary immunity.
For this reason, as ABC has learned from parliamentary sources, on Tuesday members of the People’s Party in the administrative body of Congress called on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Francina Armengol, to “study and measure the steps that must be followed and the measures that must be adopted” in the face of Ábalos’ resources. The People’s Party suspects that the defense of the former minister may consider raising the possibility of canceling the proceedings in the future due to some judicial proceedings that coincided with the performance of his job as an MP. This strategy, demanded by the popular Armengol, must be “doomed to failure.”
Abalos had already informed the Council that investigations were supposed to have begun against him while he was chairman of the Interior Committee, that is, before Congress granted the Supreme Court’s request to allow them to do so. He also complained that the judge did not send all the files related to him to the institution. According to parliamentary sources, lawyers made it clear in Council meetings that protecting the rights and privileges of representatives is not within the jurisdiction of this body in the face of any judicial action, but rather is within the jurisdiction of the Presidency of Congress, as stated in Article 12 of the House of Representatives’ bylaws.
Given Abalos’ hypothetical strategy of seeking to nullify any judicial action, the PP has already expressly called on Armengol to show maximum diligence and zeal so that his actions or omissions do not indirectly benefit his former colleague. The former minister will testify today, Thursday, before the Supreme Court after being indicted for violations in mask contracts.