San Juan, PR — The Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI) filed a mandamus petition Monday against the Puerto Rico House of Representatives in the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance in San Juan, seeking the release of sworn statements or reports on representatives’ income from sources outside the Legislature.

Under Act 97 of 1968, both senators and representatives must file a sworn statement listing all their sources of income, as well as the amount and nature of any outstanding accounts receivable. “This sworn statement shall be a public document,” the law states.

In early May, CPI Editorial Director Wilma Maldonado Arrigoitía sent a request for information to the legislative body seeking those documents.

But House Secretary and information officer Alberto León Ayala only certified that one representative had reported receiving outside income beyond what is allowed by law.
Maldonado Arrigoitía followed up and clarified that information was missing for all representatives, not just those who had not exceeded the 35% limit and who had received additional income.

“The House of Representatives has refused to release information it knows is public. The same law that sets their salaries says lawmakers must file a sworn statement identifying their sources of income and establishes that those sworn statements are public,” Maldonado Arrigoitía said.

“The speaker of the House of Representatives, Carlos ‘Johnny’ Méndez, and the secretary of that legislative body, Alberto León Ayala, have deliberately delayed the release of this information and want us to settle for a certification that does not comply with our information request or with the Salaries and Emoluments for Members of the Legislative Assembly Act which says those statements are public,” the journalist added.

Act 97 of 1968 also provides that lawmakers may earn net income outside their legislative salaries of up to 35% of their total public-official salaries. “If a legislator receives income outside that of a legislator, he or she must restore or return to the corresponding chamber the salaries earned during the calendar year in question in the proportion by which that income exceeds the percentage established above,” according to the second article of the law.

León Ayala; House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Núñez; press officer Julissa Carmona; Human Capital Director Joana Marrero Ramos; Fitzgeraldine Vega Encarnación, director of the House speaker’s Legislative Office; and other officials of the legislative body have not turned over the rest of the information requested by the editor.

“This same House of Representatives, which legislated against transparency a few months ago, is also repeatedly refusing to provide public information about its members,” said CPI Executive Director Carla Minet.

The legal petition also states that, when faced with the same information request on the same date, “the Senate of Puerto Rico provided the information requested by CPI.” The Senate submitted the senators’ sworn statements, allowing the journalist to publish a story about their contents.

This is the second time CPI has taken legal action against the House of Representatives in the current four-year legislative term. The first was also over the chamber’s failure to provide information, in that case on per diem and mileage payments to lawmakers, their pensions and additional income.

The mandamus petition follows CPI’s exhaustion of all available administrative remedies to obtain the requested information.

The legal action was filed by attorneys Luis José Torres Asencio and Steven P. Lausell Recurt of the Access to Information Project, which is part of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico Law School.

This translation was generated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and clarity.