Peru government to probe minister in relief scandal

Lima, Sep 19 - The Peruvian Congress will investigate whether Health Minister Carlos Vallejos was linked to alleged irregularities in the acquisition of relief materials for those affected by last month's devastating earthquake, Spanish news agency EFE has reported.

A congressional oversight panel agreed to investigate the purchase of food by the health service agency SIS for 14 million soles ($4.5 million) from a footwear company whose assets do not exceed 500 soles.

The committee decided to launch the probe after hearing Monday from Vallejos about the firing of SIS chief Julio Espinoza.

The minister held Espinoza responsible for the scandal and said that he was never informed of the purchase of the rations which it was obliged to do being an autonomous body.

'Espinoza did not have to ask permission for anything because the only one in charge of that institution is him. The only thing that I told him is that he had to buy body-bags for the dead and coffins, and at no time did we speak about other kinds of purchases,' Vallejos said.

But Espinoza contradicted the minister before the commission, saying that he 'officially knew of the actions taken', although he could not explain what materials were bought by his department.

Also, the head of the SIS, who is a member of the ruling APRA party, asked that the investigation to include Espinoza's predecessors in office.

The oversight panel warned that there was a possible 'flight' risk for the officials implicated in the scandal, given that former SIS administrative chief Jose Vega has been unaccounted for since last Friday, when he left Peru for Colombia.

According to the documents presented by the minister, the irregularities occurred on Aug 17, two days after the earthquake, and on Sep 20, the SIS chief sent a document saying the purchases were authorised.

Vallejos said he felt 'mortified and hurt' by the action of his former subordinate, who he said, wanted to 'tarnish him with a series of atrocities'.

The quake measuring 8 on the Richter scale that struck Peru's southern Pacific coast on Aug 15, left 519 people dead, more than 1,300 others injured and forced 56,000 families from their homes.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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