Arturo Squella, president of the Republican Party, defended the lunch hosted by President José Antonio Kast for former classmates at La Moneda, claiming it was funded with the president's own resources. He accused the opposition of raising unfounded alerts and causing unnecessary state expenses by requesting oversight from the Comptroller General. The agency gave the Presidency 10 business days to respond.
Upon arriving at the official conclave in Cerro Castillo, led by President José Antonio Kast, Arturo Squella addressed the Comptroller General's request. It stemmed from a Socialist Party lawmakers' demand to audit the event, which featured an official menu and institutional staff during work hours.
Squella described the opposition alerts as "totally unwarranted." "I've seen in some media the concern of government opponents, who in some cases have done proper oversight work and in others, in my view, have raised alerts that are totally unwarranted," he stated.
The Republican leader stressed that "that lunch was financed with the President's own resources." He further argued that the requests to the Comptroller generate more state expenses than the event's cost, which he claims was "zero cost to the public coffers."
