GEO accepts complaint against DNER secretary

Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes confirmed Wednesday that the Government Ethics Office (GEO) accepted the complaint she filed against designated Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez for alleged improper intervention in municipal matters related to coastal erosion.

She made the statements after attending a swearing-in ceremony in San Juan for new members of the governing board of the Municipal Revenue Collection Center. Yes, today I received the reply that they accepted the complaint we filed in Ethics against the DNER secretary, so from today on I will not make any more comments on this matter,” the mayor said. “That is how it is.” Nazario said last week that she filed the complaint against Quiles “for improperly intervening in municipal work, trying to promote the hiring of a specific company for the management of coastal erosion in the area.”

She said the company in question “even visited the town to recommend a specific treatment for coastal erosion.” The mayor described the situation as “unusual” and said it was something that “I had never experienced in all my years in public service.” Nazario said the complaint filed with the GEO contains the details of the situation, which she hopes will be addressed “urgently.”