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Original article: De la «Casa Nacional del Niño» al Ministerio: El historial de irregularidades y deudas que persigue a Molina

From the ‘National Children’s House’ to the Ministry: Katherine Molina’s History of Irregularities and Debts

Internal reports and testimonies from officials highlight a web of unpaid debts, irregularities in the management of critical resources, and an administrative summary that, despite its seriousness, remains inconclusive. All of this took place during Katherine Molina’s administration at the National Children’s House.

Now, her role raises further questions as, under this context, Molina managed to join the Undersecretariat for Children in an official capacity.

However, officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Family told El Ciudadano that upon learning of the investigation, Molina’s appointment was suspended while it is ongoing, and she is currently working in the Specialized Protection Service for Children and Adolescents.

This official response does little to close the loop and raises a larger question about the state’s security filters: How did a public official under investigation for integrity violations manage to position herself at the heart of the Undersecretariat for Children?

The ‘Mystery’ of the Lobos Pharmacy

One incident that occurred in 2024 during Molina’s administration alarmed several officials. This involved direct procurement of medications for children and adolescents from the San Miguel Family Residence through the Lobos and Cia Ltda Pharmaceutical Company, which handled home delivery to the National Children’s House.

According to internal documents obtained by El Ciudadano, the management revealed that Cread Casa Nacional had a debt of $3,174,380, resulting in the pharmaceutical company refusing to fulfill new medication orders.

Internal finance unit reports indicate that critical efforts were made to maintain the supply of medications under the promise to regularize outstanding payments. However, the pharmacy later revealed a concerning maneuver: Molina had settled part of the debt late, leaving an outstanding balance of over $750,000.

When auditing Molina’s expense reports to verify the tracking of funds, discrepancies became evident. Although Molina credited a subsequent payment of $2,417,350, the accounting analysis revealed a serious integrity violation: these amounts had already been reported by her as ‘paid’ in October. This indicates that the official reported a nonexistent expense to the state for three months, making the real payment only after the crisis of shortages and administrative pressure made the concealment of the debt unsustainable.

In conversation with El Ciudadano, a staff member from that period recounted how the crisis involving children and adolescents unfolded from within. According to his testimony, irregularities in medication purchases extended for over a year, during which they operated with a restricted budget of $50,000 weekly per child, while normal expenditures ranged between $150,000 and $200,000.

Both the witness and other officials deem the situation highly serious, as the lack of payment to the pharmacy directly affected the delivery of medications to children, some with severe illnesses.

Furthermore, the testimony revealed another facet of the case, pointing to serious negligence in medication management. According to the source, some staff were accused of making errors in administering treatments to transplanted children, situations that, he asserts, were tolerated by management.

Sources close to the National Children’s House also confirmed that some officials were forced to buy medications with their personal funds, accumulating significant personal debts, which were later reimbursed after reporting the situation. However, they suggest these workers then faced workplace harassment.

Disabled Cameras and Missing Supplies

Additionally, another irregularity under Molina’s administration involved anonymous reports made by a staff member through the president of the ANTRAP regional association.

The complaint was related to possible food thefts occurring at the AADD center, directly accusing the center’s director, the nutritionist, and the staff handling the food.

In response to the complaint, a review of the center’s security cameras was initiated, which revealed that during the specified times—between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM—no images were recorded. Furthermore, cut cables were detected.

Although the situation was reported to the director and no theft was confirmed, a breach of the security camera operational protocols was verified.

A technical report from Diebold Security, dated January 25, confirms that the lack of surveillance was not due to accidental failures. The assigned technician detected deliberately disconnected network cables in the monitoring office, cut cables, and, most critically, the manual shutdown of the PoE switch, which powers the cameras. According to the report, these interventions left critical areas such as the isolation room and main hallways ‘blind’ during times when, according to witnesses, supplies were reportedly taken away in private vehicles.

In addition to the complaints regarding supply theft, critical evidence reinforces the theory of systematic theft: discrepancies in food minutes. Internal records suggesting investigation indicate that the calculation of supplies for meal preparation did not match the actual situation at the facility.

Specifically, it was found that reported food expenditures were significantly higher than actual consumption, even though the center had a decreased number of Children and Adolescents (NNA) during that period. This inconsistency pointed to a loss of resources that, rather than being an administrative error, coincided with the times when witnesses allege goods were taken away in private vehicles.

The Eternal Summary and the ‘Ministerial Prize’

These past events are not the first to put Katherine Molina under scrutiny. In 2018, the Comptroller’s Office mandated her preventive suspension from her role as director of the National Children’s House, a measure that also affected her technical chief.

At that time, El Mercurio reported that the Comptroller’s investigation was due to cases of child abuse, cover-ups, and administrative disorder.

Her suspension was not without controversy. One significant episode occurred when, despite the ongoing measure, Molina still presented herself at the National Children’s House. At that time, she argued that she had not been formally notified in writing by the oversight agency and that failing to attend could lead to accusations of neglecting her duties. By then, six complaints against her had already been documented.

The ‘Clan’ of the National Children’s House: Harassment, Favoritism, and Political Shielding

These incidents illustrate the irregularities recorded during Molina’s administration. Additionally, a deteriorating work environment and reports of harassment against those who spoke out emerged.

Close sources reported that “there was an atmosphere of fear within the center. The director exercised total control and frequently fired staff, with two to three workers leaving each month.”

Our witness confirms a similar dynamic: according to his account, Molina formed a group of employees who protected each other and harassed those who did not belong to it.

“This group manipulated situations, influenced personnel decisions, and controlled various areas. They even coerced children into making false accusations against staff. More than 30 employees have experienced harassment from this group, and many ended up resigning,” he declared.

According to this testimony, these individuals would harass and spread false rumors. Moreover, clear favoritism from Molina towards certain employees became evident; for example, celebrations were held on days when her allies were on duty, even altering the schedule.

Even more concerning, despite various accusations of mismanagement of medications and even abuse against minors, testimonies suggest that Molina turned a blind eye while pursuing those who reported these issues.

Amidst these accusations, serious questions arise about how a public official with a controversial history, active complaints against her, and an ongoing summary arrived at the Undersecretariat for Children.

Although the Ministry assured that her functions are suspended while the investigation is conducted, the case raises doubts about the control mechanisms and background reviews within the institution. This leads to questions about how profiles with such a history manage to progress in public administration and whether there were deliberate omissions or dismissals of relevant information.

Moreover, while the Ministry indicated that Molina is currently working at the Specialized Protection Service for Children and Adolescents, insiders confirmed that she has not yet returned to her duties and her transfer—after her departure from the Undersecretariat—is only scheduled for this coming Monday.

In addition, the alarmingly slow pace of the investigative process raises concerns: sources revealed that despite a formal request for investigation being made in January 2024, the administrative summary was only opened in October of the same year, allowing ten months of institutional inaction to pass. As of today, the process remains without conclusive results. Furthermore, according to close sources, the summary was initially overseen by a prosecutor appointed by the regional director herself, raising questions regarding the independence of the proceedings.

Witnesses also indicate that Molina’s influence might extend to high-power circles, which, they claim, could have resulted in a form of immunity regarding incidents that should have undoubtedly raised alarms among authorities. All of this poses particularly serious implications considering the level of responsibility involved in serving at a key institution such as the Undersecretariat for Children.

La entrada From the ‘National Children’s House’ to the Ministry: Katherine Molina’s History of Irregularities and Debts se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.