Dismissal of ADSEF administrator said due to alleged insubordination, performance issues
By THE STAR STAFF
La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Norma Burgos Andújar attributed the dismissal of Blanca Medina Díaz as head of the Administration for the Socioeconomic Development of the Family (ADSEF by its acronym in Spanish) on Tuesday to allegations of insubordination, unresponsiveness and administrative deficiencies; she ruled out any connection between the decision and contracts or the irregular handling of federal funds.
“During the evaluation conducted by the Family secretary, issues regarding discipline, execution, and performance arose concerning this official, leading to the decision to dispense with her services,” Burgos Andújar said at a press conference.
The official noted that she had tried to avoid the dismissal by seeking a voluntary resignation and even considered the possibility of transferring Medina Díaz to another government agency.
“I took steps to see if she could work at another Puerto Rico government agency,” Burgos Andújar said. “I made the inquiries, an option was available for her, and I offered it to her.”
The chief of staff said Medina Díaz wavered several times between accepting another role, resigning or being dismissed.
“At times she would say yes, at others no; the final agreement was that she would submit her resignation, but the resignation never arrived,” Burgos Andújar said. “Consequently, the Family secretary had no choice but to hand her the dismissal letter.”
The official noted that discussions took place from Friday through Monday, and ultimately, Family Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes decided to remove her from the position.
When detailing the reasons, Burgos Andújar listed a series of complaints she said she had received from the Family secretary.
“Insubordination and failure to respond -- specifically, failure to respond in a timely manner to calls and communications regarding official business -- as well as failure to address situations referred to her that were of great importance to the well-being of beneficiaries of the various programs and services she managed,” she said.
The official also cited absences from meetings related to the Nutritional Assistance Program, or PAN, a lack of administrative and programmatic diligence, delays in updating regulations and guidelines, failure to attend to critical situations, poor communication with federal agencies, and issues regarding information management.
“At times, the information provided was inaccurate or did not adequately reflect the reality of the matters under her purview,” Burgos Andújar stated.
She added that Medina Díaz also faced allegations regarding a “lack of knowledge about key agency matters” and a reliance on others to answer questions about programs, projects, and operational needs.
The chief of staff said she verified some of the claims after hearing from both Medina Díaz and the Family secretary.
“One person says what the other is saying is incorrect, and the other tells me the same about the first person,” Burgos Andújar said. “So, in some cases, I stepped in to corroborate the information, and I concluded that the secretary had no choice but to dismiss her.”
Medina Díaz denied some of the allegations, Burgos Andújar noted.
“Some of them, yes,” she replied when asked.
Burgos Andújar dismissed the idea that the dismissal was related to a contractual dispute that had circulated publicly.
“Throughout my handling of this matter, the subject of any contract never came up,” she said. “Neither the secretary nor she herself [Medina Díaz] raised that issue with me.”
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