“The JPP wants the ‘Closest Parliament’ [Regional Assembly Channel] to open up to all Madeirans and Porto Santo residents” in the hearing with Miguel Albuquerque and Pedro Ramos, about the fires that hit the island between 14 and 26 August.
In a statement sent to newsrooms, MP Lina Pereira revealed that “this Thursday the JPP will send the President of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira a request that the hearing take place in the Plenary room, with the possibility of live broadcast”. The leader’s hope is that “it will meet the needs of all Madeirans who want to hear from the government, without barriers, what happened, given the relevance of the issue and the need to inform the population”.
Juntos Pelo Povo noted the availability of the regional secretary for Health and Civil Protection, Pedro Ramos, to be heard in Parliament about the fires, but recalls that “the holding of the parliamentary hearing, as a matter of urgency, is a matter that depends exclusively on the speed with which the government official indicates the day and time to Parliament”.
Lina Pereira, who is also president of the 5th Specialized Committee on Health and Civil Protection, considers it “fundamental” that the parliamentary hearing requested by the party to hear Pedro Ramos and the president of the Regional Government takes place as soon as possible.
“We regret, based on what has already been made public, that the President of the Government does not have the dignity to go to Parliament to respond directly to the deputies. We hope that by then he will change his mind and not respond in writing,” added the parliamentarian and president of the JPP.
On the other hand, it notes that, “in the JPP’s opinion, what we all saw, live on all regional and national media outlets, contrary to the official narrative that was circulated, does not in any way prove ‘the successful strategy’ and ‘correct planning”.
What happened between the 14th and 26th of August, “shows, above all, the increased need to study and evaluate the situation of fires in the Region, prevention, planning, human and technical resources, training and acquisition of new knowledge by operators”, he concludes.