New legislators are sworn in

A total of 75 lawmakers were sworn in this morning in ceremonies nuanced by the protocols required by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first ceremony took place in the Senate and minutes later it was the House of Representatives.

Three elected lawmakers could not be sworn in today: Rosamar Trujillo Plumey, popular for the Humacao district, Luis Raúl Torres, representative for San Juan District 2, and Penepé representative Néstor Alonso Vega, who is out on bail after being criminally charged with corruption at the federal level. It was reported yesterday that Alonso Vega could not be sworn in because he failed to deliver his financial report to the State Election Commission (CEE).

Trujillo Plumey could not swear this morning either, partly due to a delay in the delivery of his financial report, his spokesman Daphne Flores explains. He indicated that the competent public accountant in charge of preparing the information to be provided to the EEC had not been given a required document due to the closure of government offices during the Christmas period.

Flores indicated that Trujillo Plumey could be sworn in later that day.

Torres asked for an apology for a medical condition, he said The new day. He said he will be sworn into the Capitol on Tuesday.

The oaths, taken en bloc by the legislators, were taken by the secretaries of the legislative bodies Manuel Torres, in the Senate, and Carlos Fajardo, in the case of the House of Representatives. Fajardo served as Secretary after being recently selected following the death of former Secretary Elizabeth Stuart. The oaths were read after the list of elected candidates who met the requirements of the electoral law was established and the roll call was held.

Minister Torres in his short message highlighted the historic participation of women in the Senate, where they will be the majority, with 14 of the 27 seats. The legislative body will also be represented by five parties.

“Your challenge is enormous,” said Torres. “My request is that you keep that obligation until the last day in the force.”

Some elected officials were accompanied by a relative in the conference room, as in the case of the penepés Henry Neumann and William Villafañe, who were present with their children. Each legislator could have two companions in the gallery.

In the conference room, where Representative Jorge Alfredo Rivera Segarra read a summons, a limit of one companion per elected officer was set, but they were alone in the conference room.

With the electoral result, the Popular Democratic Party has a majority of 26 members in the House, but in the Senate the community only guaranteed a plurality of 12 seats.

The popular delegation in the Chamber grew, with the result of the election, from 15 members to 26, while the penepé was reduced from 34 to 21. New in this latest election was the selection of four lawmakers through the accumulation of the Citizen Victory Movement, two per legislative body and the entry into the legislature of another new political party, Proyecto Dignidad, which secured two seats in both bodies.

The majority in the Chamber anticipates the election on January 11, at the inaugural session, of Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez as the new president. In the case of the Senate, José Luis Dalmau Santiago aims to guarantee the presidency that same day, but it is still not clear if he would take up the challenge of another lawmaker from another party after the PPD to take 12 seats against 10 of the New Progressive Party.

The MVC delegations in both legislative bodies announced yesterday that they will not intervene in the selection of chairpersons.