Articles

October 14, 2025 – 12:35 PM –  El Nuevo Día

By Leysa Caro González leysa.caro@gfrmedia.com
Gloria Ruiz Kuilan gloria.ruiz@gfrmedia.com

With the “vote of confidence” of the delegations of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and Proyecto Dignidad, the House of Representatives confirmed Carmen Vega Fournier this Tuesday as Comptroller of Puerto Rico. 

The nominee was ratified in the post with 47 votes in favor and the opposition of the representatives of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), Adriana Gutiérrez, Nelie Lebrón and Denis Márquez. Vega Fournier had already received the endorsement of the Senate last week, so she now holds the position permanently, replacing Yesmín Valdivieso.

A few hours earlier, the House evaluated the appointment in a public hearing in which the now comptroller committed to identifying a new headquarters for the government entity –which now occupies a building at $2 million in annual rent– and to reducing the staff of 56 trust employees.

The Office of the Comptroller has “over 500 employees,” 400 of these auditors. “Yes, definitely,” Vega Fournier responded, to questions from the chairman of the House Government Commission, Víctor Parés, on whether she would reduce the number of trust officials.

“When I was at the CRIM (Municipal Revenue Collection Center), there were almost 500 employees, and trust employees were about 20. At the Economic Development Bank (BDE) (the entity she led), there are almost 90 employees and eight trust employees. So I don't see why there have to be so many trust employees,” she added during the public hearing.

“All the career employees, if they are watching, I tell them to their face and under oath, we are not going to fire anyone. As for the trust employees, I sent for a list…, and we will discuss that later,” she noted.

The work of the Government Commission began, around 10:30 a.m., with the reading of a letter sent by representatives Márquez and Gutiérrez, of the PIP, who requested halting consideration of the appointment until the allegations presented anonymously against Vega Fournier, before the Office of the Comptroller, related to her performance as president of the BDE, were addressed.

In the anonymous complaint, it is alleged that the program the BDE has to bill and collect loans is not being administered adequately, that the agency is about to lose the certification of the Small Business Administration due to allegations of noncompliance and that the Finance Division is not sending the guarantee costs or monies that correspond in cases of special loans.

It was also alleged that Vega Fournier has supposedly recommended buying and renting spaces “without due process,” that regulatory procedures are “frequently” bypassed and that the BDE has granted differentials or additional compensation to employees who are not performing functions additional to those described in their duties sheet.

Vega Fournier responded with a “false” to each of the complaints, when questioned by the PPD spokesman, Héctor Ferrer Santiago. “I have nothing to hide; he who has done nothing has nothing to fear,” she noted.

As happened in the Senate, during her evaluation, the anonymous complainants were given until 1:00 p.m. to come to the House to sustain –under oath– their complaints. “Then, you would be enabled to halt the appointment,” the Speaker of the House, Carlos “Johnny” Méndez, stated.

During the session, which began around 1:00 p.m., Parés opened the discussion praising Vega Fournier. Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for Proyecto Dignidad, Lisie J. Burgos, maintained that she would give “a vote of confidence” after dialoguing with the nominee and hearing her explanations.

Popular representative Ramón Torres Cruz did the same. However, he warned that, with the confirmation of Vega Fournier, a “standard” or “precedent” was being created.

“I hope that, from now on, each and every one of the anonymous complaints filed at the Comptroller's Office are taken with the same seriousness with which this one was taken. With none,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Ferrer Santiago, the popular spokesman, reminded the plenary that the Anti-Corruption Code “allows persons under anonymity to file complaints.”

“I warn that, if an investigation is carried out and it is confirmed that these allegations did happen, the nominee would be committing perjury. And believe me, and I hope to count on you if it so arises, that we be the first to file for her removal, because we will indeed have grounds,” Ferrer Santiago commented.

In the public hearing, Parés swore in the nominee, at the request of Ferrer Santiago and with the consent of the Speaker of the House. “I have no problem with the deponent being sworn in. I believe she is a serious, honest and upright person and will exercise a position that requires those attributes, so I ask that she be sworn in,” Méndez noted.

The PIP delegation had anticipated its votes against the appointment, although it recognized that the nominee has the credentials to hold the position. “We are certain that you meet the requirements to be the comptroller of Puerto Rico, but it prevents us, in the fulfillment of our legislative function… from voting in your favor, insofar as those doubts are not dispelled,” Márquez pointed out.

Work agenda
During her appearance, Vega Fournier presented her work agenda for the Office of the Comptroller, which includes the creation of an Ethical and Financial Compliance Observatory to recognize entities with robust internal controls and exemplary financial management.

Likewise, she anticipated the technological modernization of the agency and the use of artificial intelligence as an ally of oversight. “My main purpose is not to punish, but to prevent, educate and protect the people's resources, ensuring that every dollar has been invested where it is really needed and avoiding any diversion or improper use of funds,” she maintained.

She added that, as part of her performance, there would be no room for gray areas, so she would implement a policy of active transparency, which will include open processes, periodic accountability and the immediate publication of audits, guaranteeing access –in real time– to the entity's data.

“The institution must have systems capable of integrating, or interfacing, with the digital platforms of the municipalities and government agencies, strengthening oversight, reducing duplications and improving the traceability of public finances,” she noted.

Vega Fournier, appointed to the position on September 25 by Governor Jenniffer González, replaces Valdivieso, who held the seat for 15 years. The Senate endorsed her appointment on October 9, less than three hours after her appearance in a public hearing before that legislative body ended.

She is an attorney and accountant with experience in government and the private sector. She worked as an advisor to financial institutions and insurers, as well as a professor and former executive director of the CRIM. At the time of her nomination, she chaired the BDE.

“I have no stain, thank God, nor will I have one, because no one who works, right now, in the government is my family, nor is my buddy. I owe nothing to anyone in the government of Puerto Rico,” she assured.