Posted on 05/16/2003 7:20:26 AM PDT by Ebenezer
(English-language translation)
Municipal assemblymen from the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) in Toa Baja (Puerto Rico) asked the party to expel Mayor Víctor Santiago Díaz, to whom consistent acts of moral depravity are attributed.
On the same day Santiago Díaz was presenting his budget report, 9 of 13 PDP municipal assemblymen submitted a formal complaint to party headquarters in favor of expulsion and requested that he be suspended from all political positions.
The complaint is based on a lawsuit filed in Federal Court against the Mayor this past November by René Rivera Ruiz and Rolando de Jesús Meléndez, two former employees who allege having received sexual advances from him. One of them affirms that he had a sexual relationship with the Mayor to gurantee assistance for his mother.
The document submitted to the PDP points out that Santiago Díaz "is implicated in incurring in consistent acts of moral depravity, in touching and sexually harassing employees in their intimate parts, such as having sexual relations against nature, in exchange for helping a citizen. These acts constitute serious crimes."
At the closing of this edition, the Mayor stated through his press office that he will react to the assemblymen's action following his budget address. Last December, Santiago Díaz had to face public opinion when EL VOCERO reported that the son of one of his aides filed and withdrew a complaint on account of lascivious acts against him. The alleged incidents occurred in 1998.
PDP Secretary Orders Hearing
The Popular Democratic majority in the Toa Baja Municipal Assembly asked the PDP to apply Article 152, Section 2 of its by-laws, which states that all members of the leadership must keep "exemplary personal conduct that will not damage the image or the interests of the party." For his part, party Secretary-General Fernando Torres Ramírez appointed an examining official and ordered that a hearing be held next Saturday to discuss the controversy between both parties.
Examining official Eduardo René Estados will tend to both the complaint from the municipal assemblymen and the complaint that the Mayor filed against these some weeks ago, Torres Ramírez stated in a press release. Santiago Díaz alleges that the members of the Municipal Assembly have also incurred in violations of the PDP by-laws.
Since the complaint filed yesterday is based on actions that do not involve him, the Secretary-General granted the assemblymen 5 days to justify why the submitted complaint should not be dismissed. Torres Ramírez asked that these controversies be discussed internally.
EL VOCERO read a censure resolution against Santiago Díaz that the Municipal Assembly approved on April 22. The resolution points out to different instances in which the Mayor has made a mockery out of the separation between the legislative power and the executive power. In addition, it mentions supposed acts of persecution and threats against its members by the Mayor and his sympathizers.
The differences between the Mayor and the municipal assemblymen are not new. During the slightly more than 2 years of his administration in Toa Baja, two Chairmen of the Municipal Assembly have resigned.
Poor Peformance
Santiago Díaz's personal problems and political differences have put the people of Toa Baja in a disadvantage, said Aníbal Vega Borges, Chairman of the New Progressive Party in that town. A [Commonwealth] Representative as well, the potential candidate for Mayor of the town pointed out that even the Popular Democrats have realized Santiago Díaz's incapacity to guide the destinies of the town.
Vega Borges declined to give an opinion about the complaint by the municipal assemblymen. "This is a PDP matter. What I know is that he has not been efficient for the people of Toa Baja," he remarked.
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