This confession was conveyed by Juan Manuel Galbis, territorial director of the ministry, to the presiding magistrate of the instruction section of the Alicante Court of Instance. The statement was made this Wednesday during the first round of witness appearances related to the files of the 140 public protection homes (VPP) of the Les Naus development.
I'm sorry, I messed up and I will take full responsibility.
According to Eduardo García-Ontiveros, lawyer for the popular prosecution exercised by Ciudadanos (Cs), these were the words of the official to Galbis when the case became public and he was asked about the inclusion of his partner's name among the beneficiaries. The official, who was disciplined by Housing, rejoined work last Monday.
The technician was solely responsible for all housing files, having taken on this responsibility to exclusively process and approve public housing requests in Les Naus. In addition to Galbis, Concepción Morillas, head of the Alicante Territorial Housing Service, and Vicente Caturla, deputy territorial secretary of the same department, also testified as witnesses. Ciudadanos, the PSPV-PSOE, and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office are involved in the procedure.
García-Ontiveros announced that they will request the testimony of this Housing official, whose partner was a beneficiary of one of the homes, to “explain what happened.” He added that it is too early to know the date of his appearance.
The witnesses indicated that the current public housing regulations are a “sieve” that allows developers to engage in improper practices, as there is no regulation obliging the administration to comply with requirements. Officials trusted the disciplined technician due to his more than 20 years of experience and did not review the files.
The next statements are scheduled for April 24, when the remaining five officials from the territorial Housing delegation who participated in the review of the files after the alleged irregularities came to light will appear. The mayor of Alicante, Luis Barcala, has described the Les Naus case as a “scandal” that has caused a strong political storm in the city council, with resignations including that of the Urban Planning councilor, Rocío Gómez, and the municipal general director María Pérez-Hickman, whose children and nephew acquired a VPP.
