PNP

The Office of the Inspector General has flagged unusual procurement practices at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which hired professional services through purchase orders — sometimes without withholding taxes — and paid invoices that lacked detailed descriptions of the work performed.

The federal investigation began five years ago and covers a period during which the senator was in the upper echelons of the Department of Education, worked as a contractor for the State Elections Commission, and served as the electoral commissioner for former Governor Pedro Pierluisi, according to sources.

The Super PAC spent $2.3 million primarily on services provided by DEP Publicidad, an advertising agency exclusively used for business with this corporate committee. However, the corporation behind the advertising strategy is Guardarraya Communications, a company founded by the creator of ARCO Publicidad.

The Puerto Rico Lottery Bureau created new permanent positions to secure jobs for political appointees who used a WhatsApp chat to coordinate political activities and, at times, to mock PNP voters. In the four-year term that ends in December, these employees also benefited from substantial salary increases

Verdict: False

An ambiguous Senate-approved regulation keeps the Secretary of the Department of Education central to decision-making, failing to ensure community participation.

After the CEE allowed ES&S representatives to participate as observers during the primaries, the company presented a $56 million bid to sell ballot-counting machines.

Despite the judicial and political disputes that the 2020 Electoral Code would go through profound amendments, the current electoral cycle began with the statute practically intact due to the lack of leadership and the internal struggles within the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party) as well as the Partido Nuevo Progresista´s (New Progressive Party) reluctance to scale back its control over the State Elections Commission (CEE, in Spanish).

Since the new law came into effect, the CEE’s president practices the highest executive and administrative authority at the agency.

Héctor Joaquín Sánchez Álvarez convocó a cuatro empleados del Departamento de Educación, que servían de jurado en el Premio de Maestro y Director del Año 2022, para decirles a quiénes debían favorecer.