Did Hugo Patt Break Parliamentary Rules?

Andrew Marshalleck

The saga of the 2020 Toyota Tacoma, which was assigned to former Minister of Lands Hugo Patt, continued today before the Commission of Inquiry.  Appearing as witnesses this morning was Juvencio Herrera, in whose name the title of the government vehicle was transferred, and Ivan Leiva, Deputy Commissioner of Lands.  Both men were part of a series of transactions in which the late model pickup truck ended up in private hands after the Ministry of Finance’s Vehicle Care Unit wrote it off as unserviceable.  Herrera went to great pains in attempting to explain his role in the purchase of the vehicle, but the question is whether or not Corozal North Area Representative Hugo Patt violated the constitution of parliament.

Andrew Marshalleck, Chair, Commission of Inquiry

“It is a contract with the government and the question that I put to him was whether he was concerned about that and that concern informed his decision to put the contract in the name of Mr. Herrera.  That was the substance of the question.  Mr. Patt did not put the approval in his own name, he put Mr. Juvencio Herrera’s name… I am not making a determination on that, Mr. Juvencio told us today that he didn’t have anything to do with it, but the letter was issued in Mr. Herrera’s name even though he referred to it as a request for purchase by Hugo Patt.  So the obvious question was, why was it necessary to put it in somebody else’s name?  If you were concerned, the question is whether or not he was concerned that putting the contract in his name would disqualify him from the House.  And when you look to the relevant provisions of the constitution, both qualifications for the senate and the house, a contract with the government, and the language is, and I quote, for or on account of the public service, and it doesn’t say what kind of contract, it says any contract, it can be the subject of disqualification.”