Governor Pedro Pierluisi signed six Executive Orders today, just hours after the oath was taken.
One of them orders the Department of Health to design a massive testing campaign to guarantee them in remote or hard-to-reach areas. Similarly, it orders the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Safety to create a settlement agreement with the federal prosecutor for the criminal prosecution of corruption offenses and white collar, among others.
Pierluisi signed Executive Order 2021-003 to promote fiscal responsibility and expenditure control measures and Executive Order 2021-004 to prohibit spending on official photographs of the governor and heads of agencies in government facilities. While two other executive orders are to establish the structure of the governor’s office and appoint the administrator of the governor’s office.
Meanwhile, Executive Order 2021-001 urges the Secretary of Health to design a massive test management campaign for Covid-19. “It is necessary for the government to make greater efforts to perform tests and identify infections, for which the Department of Health, with the advice of epidemiologists, is ordered to conduct massive testing campaigns and educational campaigns to identify cases of infection. “The governor said. The design of this campaign should ensure that tests reach remote or inaccessible areas so that everyone has the opportunity to receive them.
OE 2021-002 urges the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Safety to establish a collaboration agreement with federal agencies to tackle corruption. “Corruption in the public service is one of the main social evils that tears people’s trust in their institutions. This administration has an unavoidable commitment to strengthening law and order and that they have strong and appropriate tools to eradicate corruption, white-collar crime and crime in general. A frontal war is declared against corruption and crime, the Department of Public Security and the Secretary of Justice are ordered to enter into immediate and coordinated talks with the federal prosecutor for the district of Puerto Rico to establish, amend or improve any collaboration agreement for the criminal prosecution of corruption or white collar ”, claims the Executive Order.
Executive Order 2021-003 is to decree the measures of fiscal responsibility and control of expenditures. The government’s fiscal situation remains critical and requires immediate attention to control spending and invest in areas needed to promote economic growth. “This order states that this government is committed to maintaining spending control measures while we are responsible for people’s resources,” Governor Pierluisi Urrutia said. The Executive Order maintains the measures on tax compliance requirements set out above, but does not increase them so that the agencies can function.
Executive Order 2021-04 prohibits spending on official photographs of the governor and heads of government units. “Our administration will reflect the priorities of our people, so there is no need to publish and invest people’s money in official frames and photographs,” he said.
Finally, Executive Orders 2021-05 and 2021-06 establish the structure and organizational chart of the Governor’s Office and appoint Carmen Salgado as administrator of the Governor’s Office, respectively.
It was also reported that the current executive order for the prevention of coronavirus infections will remain in force and that changes will be made from 8 January.