Yesmín Valdivieso, comptroller of Puerto Rico
The comptroller Yesmín Valdivieso affirmed this morning that her office can fulfill the task of auditing the public debt issued, maintaining that it has the staff and administrative capacity to do so.
House Joint Resolution 63 (RCC-63) presented by La Fortaleza provides that once the audit is concluded, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico (OCPR) may, through the Secretary of Justice and on behalf of the people of Puerto Rico, challenge in the competent forums with jurisdiction any debt issued illegally and request that it be annulled or eliminated
However, Valdivieso proposed at a public hearing of the Treasury Commission of the House of Representatives amendments to the resolution with which it is planned to give this task to the OCPR in order to have additional time to carry out the work. The measure provides for up to a year, but the official wants it to be at least two years.
“The reasonable thing is 18 to 24 months, with a six-month option”, said Valdivieso, describing the term included in the measure as “insane.”
For its part, the Department of Justice, in a statement signed by its designated secretary, Domingo Emanuelli, maintained that while the Financial Oversight Board (JSF) established a process to review the illegality of the public debt, this should not be interpreted as a limitation on the government doing the same.
In Valdivieso's case, she proposed that the period to be audited be reduced from 1972-73 to 2016. The RCC 63 requires her to audit issuances from 1952 to 2016. The measure empowers her to make referrals to Justice, the Office of the Panel of the Independent Special Prosecutor “or to any federal agency with jurisdiction over the matter, to impose the corresponding civil or criminal responsibilities against those who have failed the trust of the People, and to challenge in the competent forums with jurisdiction any debt issued illegally and request that it be annulled or eliminated,” the measure reads
“We have the administrative capacity, the collective experience and a team of more than 325 professionals in the audit area. Among these, certified public accountants, auditors, attorneys, fraud examiners and digital forensic experts”, reads part of the testimony of Valdivieso presented today before the Treasury Commission of the House of Representatives.
The official rejected, in response to questions from El Nuevo Día, that the task the OCPR would receive would compromise the staff that now works on audits ordered by law, such as that of the Tourism Company.
Valdivieso indicated that she has money to be able to recruit staff. “I have vacant positions. But we have more staff… we are the largest audit firm in Puerto Rico.”
She also objected to the time the RCC-63 grants her to carry out her work. The measure provides that the final report must be delivered within a term of six months from the start of the audit, although that period may be postponed for six more months.
“The time established in the resolution is not adequate to conduct an audit responsibly,” indicated Valdivieso, maintaining that once the planning phase is finished, the objectives and the type of audit to be carried out identified, she would then be in a better position to determine how much time she would need.
The comptroller recalled that the House resolution requires her office to determine the purpose of each debt issuance, its legality, whether they had a source of repayment when they were authorized, what the money was used for and whether what is known as the “trust agreement” was complied with.
The Treasury Commission of the House, chaired by popular representative Jesús Santa Rodríguez, is evaluating three measures regarding the issue of the audit of the public debt, including the RCC-63.
The measure establishes that the Office of Management and Budget will assign $1 million annually to the OCPR to carry out this work and also requires the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority of Puerto Rico, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Justice and the OGP to provide the necessary technical advice to the OCPR.
Valdivieso indicated to this newspaper that that money is not sufficient, although she recalled that the resolution includes language that allows it to receive “additional funds” beyond that provided in the budget charged to the General Fund
In her testimony, Valdivieso indicated that her office has audited government debt in entities such as the Puerto Rico Public Financing Corporation, the Infrastructure Financing Authority, the Urgent Interest Fund Corporation and the Convention District Authority. Likewise, reports have been published on debt issuances related to the Tren Urbano, the Superaqueduct, the Convention Center District, the José Miguel Agrelot coliseum, the Administration of the Retirement Systems of Government Employees and the Judiciary.
Nevertheless, the official did warn the legislators that the negotiations the JSF conducts with the creditors and the final agreements accepted by Judge Laura Taylor Swain could have a “drastic” effect on the criteria she has to apply when conducting the audits.
Valdivieso called attention to the fact that the list of entities that must provide technical support to the OCPR should be expanded to include the Office of Financial Institutions and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.
The House Treasury Commission also addressed today two other measures: House Bill 457 and House Bill 506.
The PC-457 is by popular representative José Rivera Madera and creates the Commission for the Audit of the Public Debt of Puerto Rico, which would have the task of auditing the public debt since 1972-73. It would be made up of the director of the Institute of Statistics and the president of the Economic Development Bank, four members of the Legislative Assembly, among other figures for a total of 15.
The PC 506, by representatives Denis Márquez, Mariana Nogales and José Bernardo Márquez, proposes to create a Commission of Truth and for the Comprehensive Audit of the Public Debt of Puerto Rico and would have the task of conducting a comprehensive audit of the debt, beginning in fiscal year 1972-73, comprising four aspects: financial audit, forensic audit, compliance and performance audit and social impact audit.
This commission will be made up of 17 people.
Regarding these two measures, Justice concluded that both are “legitimate and valid.” Nevertheless, the agency insisted that, although it recognizes that the Legislature (in the case of the PC-457) has full constitutional authority to conduct investigations, it is the OCPR that has the constitutional authority, the framework and the resources to carry out a large-scale audit, which is what the RCC-63 proposes.
Some documents on this page are saved in PDF format.
To view these documents, you must have the following free program installed.
