By The Star Staff
Family secretary-designate Ciení Rodríguez Troche could face another hearing on her appointment, Senate President José Luis Dalmau Santiago said earlier this week.
“We have not done caucuses of any nomination,” the Senate leader said late Wednesday. “I am going to hold hearings. We have additional questions from the presentation. There may be a second hearing or executive meeting on some issues that are core. This is a very sensitive agency and sometimes we see unpleasant news that we do not like to hear. The fault is not hers because she has just arrived, but she certainly has a very big responsibility in an agency where constant action is required to address the problems and situations that the most needy people have.”
The Appointments Committee, led by Dalmau Santiago, evaluated the appointment of Rodríguez Troche, who reviewed her professional career and her achievements in the position on an interim basis since last January.
“If this Senate is willing to offer me its consent, I will continue to work tirelessly to strengthen the foundations of the department, and from there we will promote collective welfare and a respectful, equitable and just society that recognizes, as our Constitution dictates, that the dignity of the human being is inviolable,” the designated secretary said.
Rodríguez Troche indicated that for the first part of her career she worked in community-based organizations in and outside Puerto Rico such as ProFamilia, Community Research Initiative, Chana Foundation and La Fondita de Jesús, among others. Starting in November 2022 she served as Family deputy secretary until January 15 of this year, when she assumed the position of interim secretary until Aug. 17, when she was appointed as secretary.