Senate to take up Education secretary’s confirmation, 15 other nominees
By The Star Staff
Days after some Popular Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers rejected the appointment of Ángel Toledo López as Education secretary, the PDP-controlled Senate convened to vote on his confirmation Friday, along with 15 other nominees.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia nominated Toledo López following the resignation of former Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés.
As previously reported by the STAR, PDP Rep. Héctor Ferrer Santago and Sen. Migdalia González Arroyo criticized the nomination because of tweets Toledo López posted 10 years ago in which he criticized the governorship of Alejandro García Padilla (2013-2016).
One of the posts said: “I have concluded that AGP is on drugs in addition to common idiocy. [He says] the economy is better than a year ago.”
“These statements, which have recently come to light, reveal a character incompatible with the integrity required to occupy a position in the constitutional cabinet,” Ferrer Santiago said earlier this week. “This appointment is far from achieving the goal of depoliticization that the country aspires to within the system and generates concern about the approach that will be taken toward educational policies.”
Amid remarks that suggested Toledo López may not be confirmed, Pierluisi noted that the Senate was just acting for the sake of annoyance.
Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón praised Toledo López and several New Progressive Party lawmakers urged the Senate, which has been moving at a snail’s pace on confirmations, to act.
Toledo López publicly said he did not believe the posts would have an impact on his confirmation.
The document convening the session also lists 15 other nominations that the upper chamber will take up on Friday:
1. Jaime M. Nünez Acosta as representative of the interests of employers in The Minimum Wage Evaluating Commission.
2. Brig. Gen. Miguel A. Méndez as adjutant general of the Government of Puerto Rico.
3. Jaime F. Rivera Emmanuelli as executive director of the Gaming Commission of the Government of Puerto Rico.
4. Agustín Montañez AIlman for a new term as veteran’s advocate.
5. From the attorney María del Mar Ortiz Rivera as commissioner of the Board of Commissioners to Promote the Uniformity of Legislation in the States and Territories of the Union.
6. Javier Figueroa Sosa as commissioner of the Puerto Rico Pilotage Commission.
7. Hiram Pagani Díaz as chairman of the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico.
8. Ramón Cruz Alicea as commissioner of the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico.
9. Melissa Massheder Torres as commissioner of the Industrial Commission from Puerto Rico.
10. Samuel A. Silva Rosas as commissioner of the Industrial Commission of Puerto Rico.
11. Alberto J. Castañer Padró as member of the governing board of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.
12. Iván E. López Báez as a member of the governing board of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority.
13. Lilliam Rodríguez Capó as member of the board of directors of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration.
14. René Acosta Benítez as member of the board of directors of the Corporation for the Promotion of Puerto Rico as a Destination.
15. Jorge Jorge Flores as member of the board of directors of the Corporation for the Promotion of Puerto Rico as a Destination.