House Meeting Tackles Bills, Loans and Budna Debate

For some six hours, elected representatives met in Belmopan for a Sitting of the House of Representatives.  The meeting got underway just after ten o’clock. Notably, attending today’s meeting was Area Representative for Corozal North, Hugo Patt, who was sworn in today since being elected in March.  During the course of today’s sitting several Bills and Motions went through all its readings including the School Teachers’ Pensions (Amendment) Bill; the Trade Licensing (Amendment) Bill; the CABEI Subscription Motion; the Taiwan and the IDB Loan Motion for the program to Improve the Labour Force Participation and Employability in Belize; and the Contingent Financing Facility Loan Motion, 2025 through the International Development Association.  We’ll bring the details of these items later in tonight’s newscast.  What also made it in today’s discourse was the matter of the Jospeh Budna Saga. As we have reported, the investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by Assistant Commissioner of Police Suzette Anderson.  This was a decision made by the Prime Minister this week.  Despite this, however, Panton reportedly had issues with the silence that followed, especially when the Prime Minister left the country immediately after.  PM Briceno tackled that issue head on today and questioned whether Panton’s devotion to the Budna situation is her way of trying to have political relevance.

John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “The Leader of the Opposition many times you messaged me and I always respond to you. I always respond to you. When you tried to again grandstand on Facebook saying “Oh curious minds want to know where the Prime Minister is.” You could have messaged and said ‘Hey where are you ? You’re doing something or whatever ?’ And I could have answered you. I have no obligation to tell you when I go out on my personal business. As Prime Minister I do have an obligation to this country. From April of this year I took my wife to see the doctor outside of Belize because she needs a complicated surgery and the date was set that this week I would have gone to set out when she will have the surgery and that’s what I went to do. That’s none of your business what I go to do with my personal time Madam Leader of Opposition. And if you wanted to ask me personally I would tell you, I’m not hiding anything. But you’re trying to grandstand because you’re so desperate to hold onto an issue and you’ll hold on to an issue of an evil individual. Joseph Budna this is who you’re defending. Now mind you we do not support what happened to Joseph Budna but this is the man. In 2000 he was charged with abusing and raping a 14 year old boy and he was convicted and sent to prison. That is the man you’re crying for. He came out and then went to Guatemala where he pretended to be a doctor. You know UDP likes to have people around them that pretend they’re doctors right ? Maybe that’s why you’re defending him so hard. Then moving between Belize and Guatemala he became the leader of a gang of criminals that kidnapped children of wealthy Guatemalans and held them for ransom and then he abused them sexually. This ring operated in Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico. That’s the same man you’re crying in the House for. That is the man Madam Leader of the Opposition. He was arrested in 2013 and after a shootout with the police he was charged, convicted and sentenced to thirty years in prison. And he got out and escaped from prison in 2019 and came back to Belize. And since then he still continued doing the same thing in Belize. He has constantly been accused for preying on underage males and is suspected to be involved ind multiple attempts to kidnap young boys in different communities in this country. In 2023 the very same man that this lady is crying for there was a minor in his bedroom, a 16 year old, and was killed. Did you cry out for the family ? Did you cry out for this family ? Did you come to this house and condemn this man that a 16 year old child was killed with Joseph Budna in his room ? Did you ever cry out for them ? You said nothing. But now because you’re trying to grandstand politically, Mr. Speaker while she was talking I was listening you know ? I never interrupted her. I never interrupted you. Now because you try to grandstand you want to embrace this man so that you could try to live politically. Is that how desperate you are ? Just last year in 2024 he was charged in Belize with abetment to murder for the killing of a man in Belmopan. This is the man you are hugging because you’re so desperate politically.”