Housing secretary rejects any connection with irregularities at vehicle inspection center

Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña

By THE STAR STAFF

The Department of Justice confirmed Thursday that it received a referral related to Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña regarding allegations concerning a vehicle inspection center in Yabucoa registered in the official’s name.

According to reports, an investigation revealed that the center faces multiple administrative allegations and alleged operational irregularities.

The referral was filed by Reps. Swanny Enit Vargas and Ramón Torres Cruz of the Popular Democratic Party, and will be processed by the Public Integrity Division and Office of the Comptroller of the Department of Justice, headed by Prosecutor Sonia Martínez Ortiz.

The housing secretary on Thursday forcefully denied a series of allegations stemming from an anonymous sworn statement attributed to an employee of the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP). The claims suggest irregularities involving a vehicle inspection center connected to her family.

DTOP Secretary Edwin González Montalvo confirmed on Thursday that an investigation is underway into records related to the Yabucoa inspection center.

In a written declaration, the housing secretary emphasized that the business in question is a family‑owned inspection center in which she has had no operational, administrative, or decision‑making role since February 2017. She noted that official DTOP communications related to the center were addressed directly to the individuals who run the business, underscoring that she has not intervened in any of its affairs.

She also clarified that the deficiencies identified at the inspection center were technical issues, not criminal violations, and that many inspection centers across the island experienced similar problems. For that reason, she called the insinuations against her “incorrect and selective.”

Pérez Peña categorically rejected any suggestion of improper influence -- either to benefit her family’s business or to affect any public official. She labeled contrary claims as “false and defamatory.” She added that if anyone believes they possess evidence of illegal or unethical conduct, “it is their responsibility to present it to the appropriate authorities.”

While acknowledging that public scrutiny is an inherent part of government service, she drew a firm line at accepting defamation, particularly, she said, when accusations come from the “darkness of anonymity.”

“Neither my family nor I have requested or received preferential treatment,” the secretary stated. “Anyone who says otherwise is lying and has the obligation to prove it in the proper forums.”