School transportation companies in Puerto Rico began receiving payment for their services on Thursday, November 12, after firms such as Tatito’s Transport Services Inc. halted operations on Tuesday, said José Rosado, president of the School Bus Contractors Federation. Rosado said the person in charge at Tatito’s messaged the committee around 8 or 9 a.m. that the company had received money, and other colleagues also reported payments.
Before entering the Senate hearings on the ERP matter, Rosado said he got a call from Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos, who told him additional staff had been assigned to process invoices that day. Rosado said the Office of Management and Budget sent the Fiscal Control Board the paperwork for $9.5 million to settle the old debt still pending.
The debt stems from unpaid services over past years, and Ramos acknowledged the transporters were right but that Management and Budget had to allow the disbursement. Tatito’s resumed operations Thursday for the hundreds of students it serves in San Juan, Carolina and Trujillo Alto. Rosado said he hopes the transaction before the board is approved in coming days and that money keeps reaching companies, noting dozens more are in the same position.