Jenniffer González Colón

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.

The allegations made by former Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard have placed under scrutiny a company that has expanded across multiple government agencies in recent years.

The group behind the Planning and Permits Code proposed by the governor of Puerto Rico lacked the academic diversity and expertise necessary to reform the permitting framework, resulting in proposals without metrics or rigorous studies to support them.

The measure would expand the authority of permit professionals, a group that has drawn criticism from professional associations, business groups, environmental organizations and academics since its creation.

Environmental and civic organizations say they are overwhelmed by the many legislative measures that would upend the permitting system, affect the environment and limit their participation in the review and legal challenges of development projects.

“The silences of the law have, or can have, social consequences,” writes Efrén Rivera Ramos, a professor, lawyer, and journalist. That is why, when courts remain silent in the face of attacks on fundamental rights, the effect can be to allow injustices that undermine their institutional legitimacy in the eyes of the public.

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

The university has not updated its fiscal plan since 2021. After missing this year’s March 24 deadline, it received an extension from the FOMB, but the May 1 final approval date remains unchanged.

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

VERDICT: FALSE

The process that led Gov. Jenniffer González to sign the Transparency Act amendments on Sunday — a measure proposed by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz — was not only deceitful but also revealing.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press warns that the proposed amendments would erode public access to government information and weaken accountability on the island.

The legislation restricts the right of access to public information. It would allow government agencies up to 50 business days to deliver documents exceeding 300 pages.

Transparency has become a worn-out slogan, invoked by politicians to create the illusion of openness and accountability. Even worse, it has been weaponized to undermine the value of diversity in a distorted version of reality, as in the Trump regime’s case. In practice, politicians and officials say one thing and do another, or announce “achievements” while concealing the how and why to avoid public scrutiny.

The debate over who qualifies as “press” —and who gets to call themselves a journalist— has stirred controversy for years in Puerto Rico and in the United States. So has the legitimacy of the so-called “official” press pass issued by the Puerto Rico Department of State. Most local reporters, including the team at the Centro […]

The Governor canceled the contract on Monday, six weeks after the CPI began investigating the matter and sought interviews with the relevant agencies.