translated from Spanish: They pulled the House out the window: FACh spent more than $438 million instead of control

After the public discomfort expressed by President Sebastián Piñera for the costs of the change of control where the general’s Arturo Merino Núñez air took the command in Chief of the air force of Chile (FACh), the institution inform or the late Thursday resources involving the event.
According to the document of the air branch, “the change of command ceremony had a total cost of US $634.452, equivalent in local currency to $438.095.291” some items of expenditure of the event considered a cocktail for 1,364 guests, $7.755.497; a partial travel allowance of 60% for the aircrews, aircraft mechanics and escorts of standards of combat operational units for a total of $23.879.486; and rental of tents, awnings, stands, amplification, lighting, materials, hardware and collations for $22.337.115.
However, the gross expenditure was aerial media that participated in the ceremony, that “he saw a total of 72 aircraft, which had a cost in fuel and lubricants for $554.422, equivalent in local currency to $382.833.839”.
Piñera opened the topic of the millionaires of the ceremony expenses to be consulted on the subject in a radio interview. There, he was emphatic in catalog as an “excess” the cost of the change of control. According to his words, it was even ‘much more’ expensive than the change of presidential control.
To be consulted by the accurate figure, the President said we had to consult directly with the Chief of the FACh to know details, which became effective this afternoon.
In the same vein, the Minister thorn recalled that the goal of the Government is the “austerity”, and said that the report delivered by the FACh will be reviewed with an external audit.
Aware of this “pull of ears” of the Government to adjust the budgets, the FACh said that “issued dated 06 November 2018 institutional high command instructions aimed at reducing costs in ceremonies and activities Protocol, what” It includes among others, reduce the presence of military aircraft in ceremonies”.
Office of the camera to Thorn before meeting the report of the FACh, the President of the Defense Commission of the lower Chamber, Manuel Antonio Matta (DC), announced that it officially requested the Minister of defence to report in detail the costs involved in the ceremony.
“It is a real nonsense that spend a figure like this in a ceremony, whereas the policy of austerity and transparency that says encourage the Government and all expect especially have the armed forces, by all the known facts”, He said.
“Sometimes one fails to understand how occur these things that add up and they follow. for this reason, we are demanding accountability, transparency and explanations”, Matta said.
Consulted by a possible subpoena to the Defense Commission General Arturo Merino Núñez, Matta Deputy did not rule out is an alternative, saying that “no one has requested it formally to the Commission, but I do not rule out quote Merino General at the next session, for be the air force itself explain the millionaire expenditure at the ceremony on November 5”.

Original source in Spanish