In the absence of a Spanish version of the draft published for comment of the Government’s Reconstruction Plan that has 411 pages, Espacios Abiertos (EA) went to Court to enforce the right of access and participation of those in Puerto Rico who have poor or no English proficiency, which – according to the American Community Survey (ACS 2012-2016) – includes 78% of the population.
“We echo the claim of those citizens who are at a disadvantage because they do not understand the published Plan and cannot comment, so we commented to that effect in the short period of 9 days opened for public comment,” said the Executive Director from EA, Cecille Blondet Passalacqua. She added that there is no transparency when the information that is offered to the public can only be understood by a few.
The lawsuit includes as plaintiff Mabel Román-Padró, who is in charge of EA’s citizen participation project, and as defendants, the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships, Omar Marrero in his official capacity as Executive Director of the Authority and as Director of the Central Office of Recovery and Reconstruction of Puerto Rico.
The draft of the Economic and Disaster Recovery Plan for Puerto Rico (Recovery Plan) was published on the web on July 9, 2018 by the Central Office of Recovery and Reconstruction of Puerto Rico, which is under the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships. The aforementioned Plan arises as a requirement of the “the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018” (Public Law 115-123) enacted by the US Congress.
This Act requires the Government of Puerto Rico to prepare and submit a plan on the recovery process of Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and María. Upon the publishing of the draft for public comment, interested parties and citizens were offered a term of just nine days to submit comments. This term expired on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, at midnight.
On July 18, 2018, at least four citizens of Puerto Rico submitted comments expressing their interest in influencing the content of the Plan, but affirming that they could not do so because they did not speak the English language. They requested that the draft Plan be translated into Spanish and that a new term be given to receive comments from the publication of the Spanish version.
EA, true to its mission of promoting a more transparent and accountable government in Puerto Rico, sent a letter to the defendant Omar Marrero on July 18, 2018, in which EA stated that the publication of the draft Plan only in the English language violates the civil rights of the citizens of Puerto Rico, especially the most vulnerable. EA also requested the translation of the Plan and the extension of the comment period.
To date, Mr. Marrero has not responded to EA’s letter nor has a substantive response been provided, beyond an automated acknowledgment of receipt. Espacios Abiertos understands that the public comment process is crucial to effective citizen participation in relation to the Recovery Plan, which supposes the allocation of a large amount of public funds. The people of Puerto Rico have the right to know its intended use.