Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz said he does not rule out going to court to force Family Department Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes to deliver the documents required in a legislative investigation, and said he would back that option if the information requested by Senator Juan Oscar Morales Rodríguez and other senators at the October 7 public hearing is not received. "If the information doesn’t arrive according to their request, and we have to go to court, we go. We’ve done it before," he said.
It is the governor of Puerto Rico who is responsible, she is the one responsible.
His remarks come after Senate Vice President Carmelo Ríos Santiago and Morales Rodríguez weighed asking a court to declare the Family secretary in contempt. Rivera Schatz said he has not communicated with either senator but the matter is valid for the courts. On the secretary’s possible removal, he blamed Governor Jenniffer González Colón for keeping her at the agency: "It is the governor of Puerto Rico who is responsible, she is the one responsible."
He said he does not know whether other candidates are on the table and does not "operate behind the scenes or on rumors." Meanwhile, Friday is the deadline of the 15-day extension Senator Wanda "Wandy" Soto Tolentino granted for Roig Fuertes and former ADSEF administrator Blanca Medina Díaz to hand over all requested documents. Soto Tolentino chairs the Family, Women, Elderly and Disabled Persons Committee, investigating administrative processes and contracting for the Star Academy initiative of NOLA Education, TANF federal funds and alleged improper pressure.