Hilda Ortega Álamo, a Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO) employee and 34-year public servant who has held a career position as Office Systems Administrator since 2003, filed a lawsuit against former DACO Secretary Valerie Rodríguez Erazo, sued in her personal capacity, alleging a pattern of discrimination, harassment and defamation. The complaint, filed with the Court of First Instance on July 8, also details the involvement of Governor’s Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández.
Ortega Álamo describes herself in the suit as a longtime public employee; separately, records show she was detailed in 2024 to work for the New Progressive Party (PNP) at the State Elections Commission’s Administrative Board for Absentee and Early Voting (JAVAA), and donated $1,500 to Governor Jenniffer González Colón per Electoral Comptroller records. The lawsuit states that with the Governor’s Chief of Staff’s approval, Ortega Álamo was appointed to a trust position as Assistant Secretary of Management and Administration in March 2025.
The suit alleges Rodríguez used state resources to target an employee who did not owe her political favors, calling the actions deliberate and having "devastating and irreversible consequences."