Jorge Brítez, former president of the Social Security Institute (IPS), Paraguay’s social security and public health institution, appeared at the Public Prosecutor’s Office to give testimony but decided to remain silent on the advice of his lawyer, José Fernández Zacur. The hearing is part of an investigation into the failed installation of modular operating rooms at IPS Central Hospital, a project at the center of inquiries into the contracting, purchase and installation of the structures.
Brítez was questioned by prosecutor Julio Ortiz. The defense says technical reports requested by the Public Prosecutor’s Office are still outstanding and that it intends to wait for those documents to be added to the case file before scheduling a new date for the testimony.
“When that is in the case file, we will request this proceeding again so that he can testify,” Fernández Zacur told broadcaster NPY. According to the reported account, the defense linked the decision to the absence of the technical reports from the case file; that point reflects the version presented in the investigation.
The former president is being investigated over possible financial damage to IPS related to the purchase and installation of the structures at Central Hospital. The defense disputes Brítez’s inclusion in the case and maintains that he only signed three contract amendments inherited from previous administrations, without direct responsibility for the events under investigation.
Also charged in the investigation were former IPS president Vicente Bataglia and former employees Marcelo Bordón Leiva, Verónica Alexandra Blanco Bogado, Hugo Enrique Aranda Noguera, José Raúl Coronel Acosta, Juan Manuel Villar López and Jaime Joel Caballero Ruiz Díaz.
As a result, Brítez’s testimony remains pending until the requested technical reports are added to the case file. The contents of those documents could affect the investigation into the contracting, purchase and installation of the modular operating rooms, as well as the possible individual responsibility of those under investigation. Because IPS manages social security and public health services, the case also concerns oversight of resources at an institution essential to healthcare provision in Paraguay.