Articles

The frauds against the public coffers and public trust committed by former Senate employees aggravate the serious harm that corruption causes, not only to the legislative institution, but to the development opportunities of the people of Puerto Rico.

Corruption in local government institutions has been singled out as one of the factors that have led the federal government to impose greater controls and conditions to release the millions of dollars in funds allocated by the U.S. Congress for the island's recovery.

Criminal acts such as those that have occurred in this legislature, amid the great fiscal challenges, hinder the efforts of various Puerto Rican sectors to regain the confidence of the citizens, the federal government, and the investment markets.

It falls to the legislative leadership to take the administrative and fiscal measures that strengthen the credibility of the institution, whose unavoidable and obligatory duty is to become a model of integrity, forming a solid front against corruption.

The recent guilty plea of the former director of the Senate's Office of Governmental Affairs adds to previous chapters of corruption that have tarnished the legislative reputation. On this occasion, the defendant, Ángel Figueroa Cruz, has acknowledged that, between 2016 and 2018, he conspired to sign false invoices for services not rendered in favor of the then interagency coordinator of the Senate. In addition, he faces charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit it. The former coordinator had already admitted her guilt along with the third co-defendant, a House contractor and political coordinator of the Senate president in the Humacao area. Both pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud by billing for services they did not perform.

Federal authorities have reported that they continue working on the investigation into this case of phantom employees at the Capitol. Figueroa Cruz was a municipal assemblyman of Bayamón and ran an office in the Senate that employs more than 60 people, among them relatives of legislators and active or defeated politicians. The aforementioned Senate office has five satellite branches around the island and disburses $1 million in service contracts, plus $100,000 in annual rentals.

The recurrence of government crime, in this case legislative, points to the lack of diligence in the supervision and oversight of the administration and contracting of public assets. In addition, frauds such as the one recently uncovered in the Senate contradict the political rhetoric of the legislative leadership in favor of public employees and pensioners. The true interests of the people are protected with sound public administration.

Our people spoke out plainly this past summer against corruption and impunity. They have demanded transparency and integrity from the political class, including the Legislative Assembly, in the use of the limited public assets.

Corruption violates the rights of citizens, because it denies them indispensable services. In recent days, Comptroller Yesmín Valdivieso estimated that corruption costs the country an average of $1,000 million annually. These are resources needed to provide services to special education students; reduce the cuts to pensions; repair traffic lights and roads; and improve transportation to the island municipalities, among many other responsibilities of the leaders in whom the people have placed their trust.

The criminal acts admitted by the former director of the Senate's Office of Governmental Affairs and other participants in the fraudulent scheme compel the legislature to block any hint of irregularity.

In the same way, it is incumbent upon the federal and state law-and-order authorities to continue with the investigations that put an end to the depletion of our country's resources and development opportunities.