Articles

El Nuevo Dia
January 4, 2018
By Gloria Ruiz Kuilan

According to Rossello, the statute has teeth to combat political investment-seeking

The statute takes measures against contractors who approach the government with the aim of profiting. (Teresa Canino)

Accompanied by the entire government component – state and federal – that combats corruption, Governor Ricardo Rossello today, Thursday, signed into law House Bill 1350, which creates the Anti-Corruption Code.

“As part of public policy, we have established zero tolerance against corruption. The objective of this measure is to be able to bring together and have in a single code countless anti-corruption laws,” said Rossello at a press conference in the gardens of La Fortaleza.

The chief executive was accompanied by the Secretary of Justice, Wanda Vazquez; the Secretary of the Treasury, Raul Maldonado; the president of the Office of the Independent Special Prosecutor's Panel, Nydia Cotto Vives; the director of the Office of Government Ethics, Zulma Rosario; the Deputy Comptroller, Nataniel Arroyo; the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety, Hector Pesquera; and the chief of prosecutors, Olga Castellon. The chief of the federal prosecution, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez, was excused from the event.

Rossello specified that the code strengthens the protections for so-called whistleblowers (those who report acts of corruption).

“The code provides that any person who has knowledge has the duty to report, and once that is done, no one—the supervisor—can take reprisals against these people. Not only is it a serious crime, but they are also excluded from the Suspended Sentence Act,” explained the Secretary of Justice.

In addition, she said that the code takes measures against contractors who approach the government with the intention of committing acts of corruption.

“It establishes—clearly—what a contractor's conduct must be,” the governor pointed out.

Likewise, Rossello said that the Code has teeth to combat so-called political investment-seeking.

“Now it is not merely canceling the contract. It is a crime. Every contractor knows there will be consequences,” the governor affirmed.

The Anti-Corruption Code also provides that the Government can file a civil claim and seek compensation for triple the damage caused to the public treasury. For that, only the conviction will be necessary.

The chief executive said there can be one of two outcomes resulting from this new statute: that more cases of corruption are discovered or that they gradually decrease.