Articles

The great privilege of serving
El Nuevo Día - Oct 21, 2025
Yesmín M. Valdivieso, Comptroller

The longest period a Comptroller of Puerto Rico has served in 73 years of history has ended. For more than 15 years, I have had the great privilege of serving this island that I love so much, and fulfilling the ministerial duty of overseeing the administration of six governors.

I want to thank so many people!

Certified public accountant Manuel Díaz Saldaña, for inviting me to be his Undersecretary of the Treasury from 1993 to 1996. There I fell in love with public service and learned about how government works!

Governor Rafael Hernández Colón, R.I.P., who convinced me that when you are offered the opportunity to serve in government and we have something to contribute, it is our responsibility to do so. Governor Luis G. Fortuño, for appointing me Comptroller in 2010, and the then Legislative Assembly for its confirmation.

The hundreds of colleagues who work and worked at the Office of the Comptroller during these years. You are the heart of the Office, committed public servants who work with independence, objectivity and integrity. I learned from you and with you! You are the true heroes; I was only your public face!

I thank the other entities of the anti-corruption group for the support and trust they placed in our office.

The Fiscal Oversight Board for the trust in recognizing the Office as a supreme audit institution and including us in a separate section of the Fiscal Plan. Thank you also for approving the Classification and Compensation Plan so necessary to retain and attract personnel.

The members of the press and commentators for the coverage of the more than 1,660 reports and investigations, even when they pointed out the delays in them. Thank you for the respect you had for the position I held for so long.

I am grateful for the other criticisms received. I considered them all and, when necessary, made adjustments. I also remain grateful for the advice received. I always strove to work with transparency and justice.

I thank all the citizens who have filed complaints at our Office because they trust the confidentiality and attention we give to their reports.

All the entities that followed our recommendations, that trusted the knowledge and experience we have as an Office that watches over compliance with the law and that multiplied not only the requests for training, but also the requests for consultations.

I remain grateful to the vast majority of public servants who work daily fulfilling their duties. I urge you to continue complying with the law, the regulations, and the commitment to promote the effective, economical, efficient and ethical use of government resources.

My parents and teachers for their great upbringing. Thank you for teaching me values, not to “repeat them like a parrot,” but to live and practice them every day.

My family for all the support and understanding about how my work did not allow me to spend more time with them. My lifelong friends for the support in good times and bad.

Thank you to all Puerto Ricans for trusting our work.

I feel very satisfied and proud of the work done. I lived every day with the conviction and hope that a better administration can be achieved that uses resources to address the needs of our people.

We worked tirelessly despite the challenges of the reduction of 130 auditors, the hurricanes, the earthquakes and the COVID pandemic. Even so, we did not stop and continued with our commitment. So yes, we achieved a great deal!

To the new comptroller, CPA and attorney Carmen Vega Fournier, I wish the greatest of success in these coming years.

Thank you very much.

Read the column by Comptroller Yesmín M. Valdivieso: The great privilege of serving, published in @ElNuevoDia 🗞️