By The Star Staff
Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary General Gerardo Cruz Maldonado announced on Thursday that the party has filed a petition with the Court of Appeals to revoke a Court of First Instance ruling that the current government administration’s campaign under the motto “Making Things Happen” is not a political promotion that uses public funds to elevate the image of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia.
“The appeal argues against the use of public funds by Governor Pierluisi and several agency secretaries to promote the image and management achievements of the current administration, especially through the campaign that uses the slogan ‘Making Things Happen,’” Cruz Maldonado said. “This constitutes an act of improper, million-dollar political promotion with state resources. This practice not only lacks a legitimate public purpose, but also violates fundamental constitutional principles by using public funds for private purposes.”
The secretary general went on to say that among the remedies requested, the PDP requests the revocation of the appealed ruling, the recognition of the unconstitutionality of the questioned advertising campaign and the order for the return of public funds used in that campaign.
“The appeal emphasizes the importance of preserving the integrity of the public treasury and avoiding partisan use of state resources,” Cruz Maldonado said. “Not only do we have the Constitution as a tool to prevent this private use of public funds, but in this case, for the first time in a case of this type, we have demanded the return of these funds from the officials who approved this ill-conceived expense.”
In the appeal, the Court is asked to revoke the appealed sentence in all its parts, to determine that the challenged advertising campaign is unconstitutional for financing a political campaign with public funds, and to order those responsible for the expenditure to return the public money paid.
Cruz Maldonado pointed out that the PDP does not agree with what was ruled by the Court of First Instance to the effect that the discussion was moot so as not to favor the defendant.
“This is not an ad campaign that became moot because we entered the electoral ban,” he said. “We have claimed from the beginning that there are facts where public funds were used for an advertising campaign prohibited by the Constitution. This has nothing to do with the electoral ban period. Consequently, the Constitution was violated in a non-election year. That is why we resorted to the appeal.”
The PDP official expressed his confidence in the judicial system and reiterated the party’s commitment to fighting for justice and transparency in the management of government resources.
“We are firm in our conviction that the use of public funds for partisan political purposes is unacceptable and we trust that the Court of Appeals will recognize the validity of our arguments,” Cruz Maldonado said.