CPI News

This is the second lawsuit against the agency under the administration of Jenniffer González Colón for failing to provide information to the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.

For two months, the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration has failed to provide public data, such as the number of people covered by the Vital Plan for catastrophic illnesses and special coverage, including cancer.

Damaris Suárez Lugo, a journalist with the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), will be honored Saturday with the Aníbal González Irizarry Award, the Overseas Press Club’s (OPC) highest award for lifetime achievement in journalism.

Although the Senate disclosed which senators received income in addition to their salaries, the House did not provide the sworn statements in which lawmakers report those earnings.

The agency turned over information on just over 700 missing people out of the roughly 10,000 cases reported — records the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo requested nearly five months ago.

In a majority decision that none of the justices who joined it explained, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court ruled that journalists may be required to present an official Department of State credential to attend press conferences at La Fortaleza, the governor’s official residence and seat of the executive branch.

The agency started turning over the information after a second lawsuit was filed this year over its failure to provide records to the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.

The appellate ruling conflicts with the position of press organizations and an earlier lower-court decision.

The Puerto Rico Supreme Court denied petitions filed by Gov. Jenniffer González Colón seeking review of a lower court ruling that found the requirement that journalists hold credentials issued by the Puerto Rico Department of State violates freedom of the press.

Since January, the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo has asked the agency for progress reports and details on how much money has been invested in an Arecibo project to rehabilitate sewer infrastructure, pumps used for a water bypass system, and contracted security services from September 2017 through December 2025.

For lawyer and journalist David McCraw, defending press freedom is a value that must be protected not only by people who work in the media, but by the public as well, because democracy benefits when journalists are free to do their jobs.

David McCraw will spotlight escalating threats to press freedom and discuss landmark transparency litigation in the United States and Puerto Rico, in a talk presented by the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo during Sunshine Week.

The decision clears the way for CPI reporters to attend briefings at the Executive Mansion and question top officials without presenting a Puerto Rico Department of State certification.

Without these officials’ email addresses, public records requests could be denied under amendments the governor signed into law as part of the Transparency Act.

Nearly three months after the initial request, four agencies have not provided the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo with communications, investigative files or the names of officials designated under a memorandum issued by the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Stories of corruption, government oversight and more