San Juan, PR — People who donate to the organization created by the Puerto Rico government to maintain and restore the historic structure of La Fortaleza receive tax credits from the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, but it is unknown how much money has been donated to the organization, how much the tax credits amount to or how that money has been used. For this reason, the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Treasury Department and its secretary, Ángel Pantoja Rodríguez, asking a court to order them to provide information requested two months ago.
Since July 14, CPI journalist Tatiana Díaz Ramos has requested data from the agency about the Fundación del Palacio de Santa Catalina, created by Gov. Jenniffer González Colón through Executive Order 2025-014, and the Fundación para el Patronato de Santa Catalina, which was established under the administration of former Gov. Sila María Calderón Serra and later became inactive. The foundation created by González Colón replaced the one established by former Gov. Calderón. Both foundations have been responsible for preserving the Executive Mansion.
The executive order establishes that the Treasury Department will grant tax credits for donations received by the foundations. When Calderón created the original foundation, donors could claim 50% of the amount donated as a tax credit. Now, they can claim 100%.
“Two months is an excessive amount of time for the Treasury Department to respond to a straightforward information request: to find out how many tax credits it has granted for donations made to foundations created by the government. This is public information that should be readily available,” CPI Executive Director Carla Minet said.
Díaz Ramos said she followed up with officials multiple times by email, phone and text message but received no response from the agency.
“The amendments to the Transparency Law gave agencies more time to respond to requests from the press, with the justification that this would reduce lawsuits. Yet we once again have to go to court to get public information that was confirmed to have been compiled, validated and available to be provided,” Díaz Ramos said. “It is, at the very least, questionable that public officials called upon to serve the public can fail to fulfill their duty to provide access to information to which we are entitled without any consequences.”
This is the second time CPI has sued the Treasury Department under the González administration for failing to provide public information. The first time was last year, after the agency failed to provide contracts, invoices and the total amount of money paid to several advertising companies, including Digimedia, Key Integrated Solutions and KOI.
After the court ordered the information disclosed, the Treasury Department turned over multiple boxes filled with the documents. Using the data provided, editor Vanessa Colón Almenas and CPI journalist José M. Encarnación Martínez published the story Governor’s Campaign Advertising Agency Hit the Lottery, Even Though It Received the Lowest Evaluation.
In the current lawsuit, the CPI argues that “even if the requested information is not contained in a printed document, that does not prevent it from being classified as public information or from being disclosed.” It also states that “the requested information is not protected by any privilege or claim of confidentiality, nor does it fall under any of the exceptions to the right of access to information.”
The legal action was filed by attorneys Luis José Torres Asencio and Steven P. Lausell Recurt, of the Access to Information Project at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, along with law clinic student Carlos Serrano-Negrín.
This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.
