Vicente Caturla, Deputy Territorial Secretary of Housing for the Generalitat, testified before the head of Section 5 of the Instruction Court of Alicante. According to Caturla, the public housing promotion in Alicante began with legislation guaranteeing equality and transparency, but changed with the implementation of the 'Mazón decree'.
The witness alleged that his department lacks the capacity to verify if the information provided by applicants is correct. He cited as an example that if someone has a common-law partner and does not declare it, there is no way to verify it. Furthermore, he explained that the developer personally allocated the homes and that the administration oversaw compliance with requirements, but without sufficient means to exercise effective control.
Caturla pointed to Roberto Palencia, an official from the territorial directorate of Alicante who was disciplined and suspended from employment and salary by the Generalitat. Palencia volunteered to endorse the contracts and, on his own initiative, reviewed the 140 files, which were processed entirely electronically.
The administration verifies income and single home ownership through income tax declarations and the Property Registry. However, it does not verify if a person owns several homes in the name of a company where they are an administrator. Family unit members are declared through a sworn statement by the applicants.
“"Today it has been openly acknowledged that there were no means to verify whether the documentation provided by the beneficiaries was truthful or if they truly met the requirements to access public housing. We are facing a failed system that has allowed a real windfall with public resources."
The scandal broke when it was revealed that Roberto Palencia's wife had been awarded one of the public protection apartments in the Les Dunes development. When Vicente Caturla asked him for explanations, Palencia reportedly said: “I screwed up, I accept the consequences.” Caturla stated that an investigation was opened against Palencia, but it was later archived, so Palencia remains in his position.
The spokesperson for the socialist municipal group, Ana Barceló, criticized the “failed system” of public housing allocation. Following the testimonial declaration, Barceló affirmed that the PP's housing model opens the door to “windfalls” like that of Les Naus, and highlighted that controls did not function during the housing allocation under the mandate of Alicante's mayor, the popular Luis Barcala.
