PDP union leader defends resident commissioner against Santini barbs

By The Star Staff

Popular Democratic Party’s (PDP) Public Servants Organization President Juan Vega Quiñones reacted on Sunday to the most recent statements by New Progressive Party (NPP) Secretary General Jorge Santini criticizing Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera’s job performance.

“Santini is stuck in the political dynamics of the past; he appears disoriented in his statements,” Vega Quiñones said.

“What bothers some sectors of the NPP leadership is that Pablo José Hernández Rivera is the elected official who received the most votes in the last elections and is active both in Puerto Rico and in the federal capital,” the PDP official asserted. “And not to mention the effectiveness of his communication, both on social media and in the media.”

“His presence in Puerto Rico is an essential part of his congressional work, and he also holds regular meetings with both Democratic and Republican legislators to promote bills related to health, energy, and economic development,” Vega Quiñones added. “As recently as this past week, Pablo José led a group of 21 Democratic legislators in urging the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to reverse its decision to close Rural Development offices in Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions.”

Santini, a former mayor of San Juan, harshly criticized Hernández Rivera in a recent press release on the grounds that he has spent more than 70% of his time in Puerto Rico, “playing politics instead of fulfilling his main duty: representing the people before the United States Congress.”

“He was elected to work for our people in Washington, not to be on the island for political activities,” Santini said. “He doesn’t even have a balance sheet. His absence in the federal capital and his lack of results are unacceptable.”

The NPP secretary general went on to accuse the resident commissioner of prioritizing his visibility on local social media over achieving concrete actions at the federal level.

“He has turned his position into a constant tour,” Santini said. “He has written more content for social media than for a congressional measure. There are no new proposals, no alliances, and what there is is a lot of repetition and little action.”

Regarding the public issue of the Trump administration’s aggressive policies toward immigrants with undefined legal status, Vega Quiñones noted that Hernández and 27 members of Congress sent a letter to Gov. Jenniffer González Colón last Thursday to express their serious concern about her administration’s decision to voluntarily share information with immigration authorities on such immigrants who have provisional driver’s licenses in Puerto Rico.

“But it seems Santini doesn’t read the press and prefers to make senseless attacks,” the union leader said.