The Minister of National Defense was yesterday in the municipalities of Portimão and Lagoa, but did not inform the mayors of the latter municipality of her visit, nor did she invite them in time to accompany the delegation.
The denouncement of this situation was made this morning by the president of the Parish Council of Ferragudo, in a letter sent to the Minister of National Defence, the General Directorate of the Maritime Authority and the Instituto de Socorros a Náufragos, a letter that was made known to the media.
Minister Helena Carreiras was in the Algarve yesterday for the celebrations of National Defense Day, which began at 10 am with a session with young people residing in the municipalities of Portimão, Lagos, Lagoa, Monchique and Silves, in the auditorium of the Portimão Museum.
According to the program to which the Sul Informação had access, but it was not disclosed to the media, at least to the regional ones, followed by a visit to the Naval Support Point (the Navy pier in the Port of Portimão), where a demonstration of the National Defense Device took place ( boat and jet skis), boarding the lifeboat to cross the Arade to Ferragudo and then visit the ISN Station, culminating with a visit to the Farol of Alfanzina, also in the municipality of Lagoa.
The minister's visit was accompanied, including in her wanderings through the municipality of Lagoa, by Álvaro Bila, vice-mayor of Portimão, José Cardoso, councilor of the same municipality of Portimão, as well as by Jorge Campos, chief of staff of Isilda Gomes, among other individualities.
In his letter of protest, the president of the Ferragudo Parish Council emphasizes that «according to the agenda, an important part of the celebrations took place in the territorial area of the Municipality of Lagoa and the Freguesia of Ferragudo, both in its maritime area and in its land area, either on the visit to the Instituto de Socorros a Náufragos de Ferragudo, or on the arrival and departure of Mrs. Minister and the other guests», without this having been made known to either the Municipality of Lagoa or the Parish Council of this riverside town.
Furthermore, points out Luís Alberto, because of the minister's visit to the facilities of the Ferragudo Lifeguard Station, «a part of the riverside area of the village was occupied, with inconveniences, both for the fishing activity and for the commercial activity of the area. , without having been informed to any of the territorially responsible authorities”.
«We regret that, on a visit to another Municipality and Parish other than Portimão, the mayors of the Municipality and Parish were not informed», even more so when they were the ones who «in reciprocal collaboration» and «in due course, were able to interfere in the need to recover the ISN building, in the acquisition of an all-terrain vehicle for the ISN (integrated in the commemorations), as well as erecting a memorial in honor of the brave men who have always known how to carry out the mission of saving lives, in the Municipality of Lagoa», he also writes.
Luís Alberto adds that "as local mayors, we always comply with good manners, protocol and respect for the other entities that manage the territory", considering therefore "inconceivable" that, for a visit by a representative of the central power, "no mayors of the territories visited are invited, especially since, in this case, the visit of facilities in the Municipality of Lagoa, Parish of Ferragudo, by mayors of another municipality [Portimão], without the local ones, were invited or even warned'.
The president of the Board of Ferragudo ends by saying that, as Portugal is a «consolidated democracy», as well as «its territorial divisions», «cases of this nature» should not happen.
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