WILLEMSTAD – Opposition party MAN-PIN has requested that Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas appear before the Curaçao Parliament to explain reports that the government attempted to introduce an additional financial payment for ministers and members of Parliament.
According to the opposition faction, the government may have prepared a national decree intended to provide political officeholders with a thirteenth-month salary or another form of financial bonus.
MAN-PIN wants to establish whether such a proposal was actually approved by the Council of Ministers and subsequently submitted to Governor Mauritsz de Kort for his signature.
On November 6, the faction submitted a formal request to Parliament President Fergino Brownbill asking for a parliamentary question hour with the prime minister.
The request follows reports suggesting that Governor De Kort refused to sign a national decree that would have made the additional payments possible.
However, the alleged refusal has not been independently confirmed, and MAN-PIN is seeking clarification directly from the government.
The opposition party wants Prime Minister Pisas to explain whether the Council of Ministers discussed or approved a proposal to award additional financial compensation to ministers and parliamentarians.
It also wants to know whether a national decree was drafted and formally presented to the governor.
The controversy centers on the possibility that members of the government and Parliament could receive additional financial benefits beyond their existing statutory compensation.
For MAN-PIN, the issue raises questions about government priorities and transparency, particularly when decisions involve financial benefits for political officeholders.
The faction believes that the public is entitled to know whether the government pursued such a proposal, who initiated it, and whether the proper procedures were followed.
The request for a parliamentary question hour would provide Prime Minister Pisas with an opportunity to clarify the situation and respond to the allegations.
Until the government provides an official explanation, it remains unclear whether the reported bonus proposal was formally developed, submitted to the governor, or rejected.
MAN-PIN is awaiting a response to its request for parliamentary questioning.