In order to promote transparency, the Marina del Pilar administration has given continuity to at least twenty penal reports regarding corruption cases, submitted to Baja California and Mexico’s Attorney General Offices, which occurred in the previous administration. One of the most outstanding cases is the irregularities in regard to 90 million pesos to buy uniforms and medical sinks during the pandemic.

During the 80th edition of Wednesday Morning Press Conference with Marina del Pilar, the Secretary of Honesty and Public Services, Rosina del Villar Casas, and the judicial council of the state government, Juan José Pon Méndez, informed that officials from the previous administration are being investigated, highlighting the cases of Alonso Óscar “N”, Carlos “N”, Miguel Ángel “N”, Gerardo Abdiel “N”, and Mikel Roberto “N” who were officials in the health sector. There are at least 8 reports against them for several criminal conducts.

In the particular case of Alonso Óscar “N”, the state official said that he was being investigated for embezzlement, an illegal activity of public service, as well as illegal use of his responsibilities and abilities, as he was responsible of 8 direct awards with serious irregularities.

However, Pon Méndez added that administrative investigations continue, which is why he doesn’t rule out that justice departments find more people who are involved in acts of corruption and claimed that he will promptly inform the population at large if this happens, cases which will be handled by the state’s Judicial Branch.

As such, Governor Marina del Pilar highlighted that in the fight against corruption and the importance of public services, the work carried out by the Secretariat of Honesty and Public Services has been essential, as its head, Rosina del Villar, created a work plan, put legal and administrative aspects in order, created defense, tax, and auditing strategies, and channeled activities to fight against corruption in Baja California for the first time in the history of the state.

“When we took office, we found serious irregularities in the work of the Secretariat of Honesty and Public Services. There was no direction, no work plan, no legal strategy, and no system to integrate files. They didn’t evaluate results or carry out any auditing,” she said.

As a result of actions implemented, 42 audits to agencies were carried out with 326 observations, of which 77 were resolved, 46 were clarified, 152 haven’t been resolved, 46 are being investigated, and 5 are about to be investigated. There are also 12,604 active investigation files, of which 4,612 are related to the state’s assets.

2,631 open cases regarding citizen assistance have been addressed and 232 social comptroller committees have been installed, which is why there is an agreement with the Secretariat of Public Services of the Government of Mexico. There are also 314 procedures of administrative responsibility and 129 penalties have been given, with the standouts being 9 suspensions and 12 disqualifications. There are also 32 files that were given to the State Tribunal of Administrative Justice, so that the Judicial Branch can determine penalties.

Secretary Rosina del Villar added that her agency is in charge of promoting the participation of people, through social comptrollers, so that people can not only be witnesses of the reports submitted, but also have the opportunity of reporting irregularities in projects and social programs.

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