Overview
- Congress initiated the purchase of 4,500 electronic gift cards at S/1,900 each, a S/8.55 million outlay for legislators and staff with one-year validity, security features, nationwide use and 24/7 support.
- Each legislator’s December intake totals up to S/46,900, combining salary (S/15,600), an equal gratificación, a S/11,000 function bonus, a S/2,800 representation allowance and the S/1,900 card.
- The benefits are set by a collective bargaining agreement valid through 2025, which is outside Contraloría oversight, and a commission is already in place to negotiate the 2026–2027 pact.
- The card benefit has risen from S/1,500 in 2020–2021 to S/1,700 in 2022–2023 and S/1,900 since 2024, with S/24.66 million spent on this item between 2023 and 2025.
- Analysts criticized the spending as lacking austerity, while lawmakers such as Jorge Montoya and Kathy Ugarte defended the payments as part of established benefits.