English

Department of Health Bought Overpriced Medical Equipment from Contact Referred by National Guard

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The Department of Health was not the only government agency that purchased COVID-19 screening tests, masks, and other supplies for the pandemic. The Puerto Rico National Guard also made its purchases, and at least one of its transactions reflects what has been a pattern within the government during the emergency: failure to comply with the agreed terms; intermediaries with no experience in medical products; and companies that disappear without a trace. Between April and June 30, the National Guard disbursed $4.3 million for emergency-related procurements. The information about the National Guard’s suppliers was shared with the Department of Health, José Reyes, Adjutant General of the National Guard, told the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish). Reyes said that at a meeting in the house of state La Fortaleza, Mabel Cabeza — the Department of Health’s former chief of staff and liaison between the medical Task Force designated for the pandemic and the executive branch — asked who was providing procurement quotes to the National Guard for emergency-related equipment.

Actualidad

Solicitud de renuncia a Secretaria de Justicia fue por recomendar un FEI para la gobernadora Wanda Vázquez en el caso de los almacenes

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El informe que refiere al PFEI a la Gobernadora y al Secretario de Estado es producto de una investigación de carácter criminal sobre la operación del almacén con suministros de la Agencia Federal de Manejo de Emergencia (FEMA) que fue descubierto en Ponce por ciudadanos el 19 de enero del 2020.

Coronavirus

Hundreds of employees file complaints in OSHA against employers in midst of pandemic

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The Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Administration (PROSHA) received 680 complaints against employers related to the COVID-19 crisis from March 14 to April 29. Of those complaints, at least 124 were reported in April between the 1st and the 29, just before the government began the partial reopening after the curfew, and in the same week that the number of cases of infection by COVID-19 was expected to peak. The Department of Labor and Human Resources (DTRH, in Spanish) sent a chart where the total number of complaints differed from the figures it provided in writing to answer specific questions from the Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI, in Spanish). The DTRH’s data shows that of the pandemic-related complaints filed against employers who kept their operations going during the quarantine, at least 50 come from hospital employees and eight from health service centers throughout the island. Among these: the HIMA Hospital in Bayamón; Auxilio Mutuo in San Juan; Menonita in Humacao; San Pablo in Caguas; Perea in Mayagüez; La Concepción in San Germán; and, Pavía in Toa Baja.

Actualidad

Business as usual en centro de llamadas Santander Consumer en medio de la pandemia

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En un correo electrónico enviado hace una semana a la dirección oficial de la gobernadora Wanda Vázquez, una persona que trabaja en el centro de llamadas Santander Consumer International denunció que a un grupo de empleados les están obligando a trabajar bajo condiciones que no protegen su salud y seguridad. Hace una semana, dos empleados del lugar presentaron síntomas similares a los del coronavirus (COVID-19). El centro de llamadas, que se dedica a cobrar deudas de automóviles a clientes de Estados Unidos, está en el piso 12 del edificio UBS Plaza en Hato Rey. Pueden haber allí entre 90 a 100 personas al mismo tiempo, según seis fuentes distintas que hablaron bajo condición de anonimato con el Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI). “Estamos en un espacio donde, si yo estiro mi brazo, toco al compañero de al lado.