acceso a la información

Tribunal Supremo atenderá caso en que el CPI pide documentos públicos a la Junta de Control Fiscal

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El Tribunal Supremo de Estados Unidos decidió acoger este lunes un recurso legal mediante el cual la Junta de Control Fiscal de Puerto Rico elevó a ese foro un caso de acceso a información pública que el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) le ha ganado en instancias previas del proceso judicial. El máximo foro federal evaluará, a petición de la Junta, si esa entidad creada por la Ley PROMESA tiene inmunidad soberana, lo que significa que es totalmente inmune a reclamaciones bajo las leyes de Puerto Rico, por lo que no le aplica el derecho constitucional de acceso a información pública. 

Los periodistas del CPI solicitaron desde el 2017 las comunicaciones entre funcionarios del Gobierno de Puerto Rico y la Junta, entre otros documentos. Como parte del litigio que ya lleva más de cinco años, el ente fiscal entregó al CPI alrededor de 18,400 documentos, pero reclamó confidencialidad sobre otros 20,000. 

“Desde el CPI reafirmamos nuestro derecho de acceso a esa información que la Junta de Control Fiscal ha intercambiado con el Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Vamos a seguir luchando para lograr que el pueblo de Puerto Rico sepa lo que ha estado haciendo la Junta y cómo se han estado tomando decisiones. El que el Tribunal Supremo federal haya decidido acoger este recurso nos preocupa, porque la Junta pretende operar sin tener que cumplir con el derecho puertorriqueño al acceso de información garantizado por nuestra Constitución.

Centro de Periodismo Investigativo

Celebran jornada que enlaza el periodismo investigativo con la perspectiva de género

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La alta incidencia de asesinatos y agresiones a mujeres, los intentos de restringir el derecho al aborto y el asedio contra personas de géneros diversos serán los temas centrales de una jornada organizada por el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo del 10 al 12 de agosto, en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Interamericana.

access to information

CPI Demands Access to Public Information on the Performance of Health Plan Insurance Providers

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San Juan – A special petition for access to public information was filed this Wednesday in the San Juan Superior Court against the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Services Administration (ASES, in Spanish) for failing to comply with a request from the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish) regarding the government’s health insurance plan. On May 24, the CPI, through journalist Jeniffer Wiscovitch Padilla, began efforts to obtain data on the providers that participate in the government’s health insurance plan named Vital and their quality reports. After multiple telephone and email communications with ASES, the legal recourse was filed given that the term provided by Act 141-2019 (Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Act) has elapsed for the agency to respond or provide what was requested. In its filing, the CPI also asks the Court to order ASES to prospectively disclose this information when requested, in compliance with Article 4 of the Transparency Act. “In this case, the request made to ASES complied with the requirements established by the Transparency Act; everything requested is public information of high interest to the people of Puerto Rico and isn’t protected in any way by any privilege or confidentiality claim,” said Carla Minet, executive director of the CPI.

Center for Investigative Journalism

Participants of Medioscopio, a Media Literacy Project, Present Their Work

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A podcast, a show on Facebook Live and a Facebook page, as well as a photo exhibition, were the projects developed by a group of youngsters from Loíza presented during the closing of Medioscopio, a media literacy and citizen reporters initiative conducted in partnership between the Center for Investigative Journalism, the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art and its “MAC en el Barrio” program, and ASPIRA Puerto Rico.

English

CPI Scores Federal Court Win Against Fiscal Control Board and For Access to Information

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The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston rejected the Fiscal Control Board for Puerto Rico claim that due to “sovereign immunity” it did not have to submit to the right of access to information recognized under the Commonwealth’s Constitution and deliver documents on their processes requested by the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish). “In this case, the Board stated that, under the PROMESA law, it enjoyed complete immunity from the people’s claims of access to the information in its archives. Through this decision, the First Circuit Court in Boston rejected this assertion that highlights the Board’s impunity and total power. A court has finally put a stop to some of the Board’s abuses. The people of Puerto Rico have the right to know what their de facto rulers are doing.