House speaker: Governor should activate ‘Pink Alert’ in response to gender violence

By John McPhaul

jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Núñez expressed regret Monday that Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced had not activated the Pink Alert (known in Spanish as Alerta Rosa) law, which allows reporting cases of gender violence.

“It is regrettable that on many occasions the Legislative Assembly acts and the executive [branch] does not execute,” Méndez Núñez said in a radio interview. “Simply the actions, the purpose and public policy that is established by the [lower] chamber and Senate, agency heads or the [senior officials] themselves do not give it the importance it deserves.”

“The actions that the Legislative Assembly often take and the public policy it establishes are precisely because we are in direct contact with the needs of the citizens. They are not whims,” Méndez Núñez said regarding the Pink Alert law, which was approved a year ago.

“It is sad that this protocol that is clearly established in law and that should have been activated immediately, has not been activated,” he added.