SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — After failing to produce documents tied to compliance with a memorandum on government transparency measures and the Code of Ethics for Contractors, the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) filed a petition for a writ of mandamus on Monday, Dec. 12, against five public agencies in the San Juan Superior Court.
Between October and November 2025, CPI journalist Luis Valentín Ortiz submitted public records requests to the Office of the Chief of Staff, the Department of Housing, the Department of Health and the Department of Education seeking documents generated as a result of a memorandum outlining internal transparency measures for the Executive Branch, as well as the Code of Ethics for Contractors. The memorandum was promoted by Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech to establish “clear regulation of the legitimate practice of lobbying by ensuring transparency, avoiding conflicts of interest and protecting the rights of our people,” as the official said in April 2025.
The memorandum includes rules under the “Code of Ethics for Contractors, Suppliers and Incentive Applicants of the Government of Puerto Rico.” Each agency must ensure compliance with the code and conduct the investigations needed to determine whether a contractor has violated it.
However, none of the agencies or officials contacted have provided the information Valentín Ortiz requested, including communications between the Office of the Chief of Staff and Executive Branch agencies, files related to investigations conducted under the memorandum, or the names of the officials appointed to carry them out.
“Here we have a measure that was rolled out with fireworks to prevent illegal activity and conflicts of interest in lobbying, and supposedly to bring transparency to the process. Yet it lacks visibility, and the documents that should have been produced over the past year are not being released,” said CPI Executive Director Carla Minet.
“The requested information would allow us to verify how the government has implemented a transparency initiative around lobbying, as presented by the chief of staff early in this four-year term. Unfortunately, despite following the process established under the public records law, we have not received the information, and once again we must go to court to enforce this right so we can do our journalistic work,” Valentín Ortiz said.
The mandamus petition follows CPI’s exhaustion of all available administrative remedies to obtain the requested information. The lawsuit states that the “parties against whom this action is brought have a ministerial duty to provide the requested information,” and that the agencies’ refusal “violates constitutional rights to access information and freedom of the press.”
The petition was filed by attorneys Luis José Torres Asencio, Judith W. Berkan Barnett and Steven P. Lausell Recurt, of the Inter American University’s Access to Information Project.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
