Popular Democratic Party (PPD) at-large senator Ada Álvarez Conde, a member of the Senate’s Family Committee, said controversies over contracting at the Department of the Family have eroded public trust and called for an investigation into allegations of undue pressure to award contracts at the agency. Asked on El Nuevo Día’s "Lo de Hoy" whether Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes is fit to remain in her post, she said trust has been damaged and described "scandal after scandal for every secretary."
She said she does not blame people without evidence, which is why she has sought an investigation to assign responsibility. Her remarks follow Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz’s referrals to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General over allegations by dismissed ADSEF administrator Blanca Medina Díaz. Medina alleged Roig Fuertes pressured her to award a roughly $38 million contract to NOLA Education LLC to implement the Star Academy program in 25 public schools, and, in a Telemundo interview, to sign another contract of about $300,000 stemming from an unsolicited proposal.
El Nuevo Día reported that proposal came from Strategic Technology Advisors, whose president, Leobardo Villegas Huertas, is a donor to Governor Jenniffer González and the PNP. Per the Comptroller’s registry, the firm holds six active contracts totaling $4,953,707. Álvarez Conde also linked the complaints to earlier allegations about Roig Fuertes’ involvement in a contract while she led a Health Department division.