The Commission on Education, Culture and Sports of the National Assembly approved in first debate, on October 7, 2026, Bill 623, which institutes the Corpus Christi, Octava and Corazón de Jesús festivity of the Parita district, in the province of Herrera. The initiative was submitted in April 2026 by alternate deputy Gumersinda de Polo, of circuit 6-2, and according to the committee report it was approved with modifications, among them the removal of articles 7 to 13 and the replacement of the proposed patronato with an existing non-profit association as the organizing body.

Article 1 of the bill institutes the festivity as a national cultural, tourism and folkloric event, to be held each year in June in the head township of Parita, on the dates set by the Catholic Church calendar. Article 2 defines its purpose of preserving and promoting internal tourism and folkloric traditions, and article 3 entrusts the organization of the events to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Tourism Authority of Panama, the Catholic Church and the district authorities. Article 5 provides that the State, through the Ministry of Culture and the Tourism Authority, allocate in the first half of each year funds that may not be lower than those of the previous year and that may not be transferred to other activities.

The bill aims at the cultural economy of Azuero. According to its explanatory statement, celebrations like this one mobilize lodging, restaurants and the sale of handicrafts of the region and attract national and foreign visitors to cultural and religious tourism, beyond beach tourism. If approved, recognition as a national event and State financing could give continuity and promotion to a festivity that, according to the bill's explanatory statement, is part of a tradition recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The bill only cleared the first debate, so the second and third debates in the plenary, the Executive's sanction and publication in the Official Gazette must still take place before the law exists and is in force. The final scope, including the organization and financing mechanism, will depend on the text that results from those debates. Nexo Capital will follow the processing of Bill 623.