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Monday, January 23, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

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January 23, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ediƟon, along with a Weekend EdiƟon to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Senate Approves Resolution Ordering Probe of Tax-Exemption Decrees By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

have benefited from this measure are complying with the conditions imposed by the exemption decrees,” Dalmau said on Frihe island Senate late last week appro- day. ved Senate Resolution 5, authored The PIP senator said the murkiness by Puerto Rican Independence Party surrounding the government’s compliance (PIP) Sen. Juan Dalmau, which orders the Se- with Section 15 of Law 73-2008 contributes nate Treasury Committee to investigate the to the lack not only of transparency, but also effectiveness of the tax exemption decrees of comprehensive information on the Spegranted to companies that benefit from the cial Fund for Economic Development creaEconomic Incentives for the Development of ted by Section 17 of the law. Puerto Rico Act. “With this resolution, we seek to moni“With the approval of this investigation tor this policy of tax privileges granted to of my authorship the Senate will be able to corporations and multimillion-dollar cominspect and evaluate the exemptions gran- panies to determine if they comply with the ted and will ensure that the companies that public policy set forth in the law and, above all, if it has been beneficial for the country,” the independence leader said. Other measures of an economic nature put forward by Dalmau are still pending, including the proposal to prohibit the government and public offices from incurring expenses for the purchase of time and space in public media with the aim of projecting images for partisan political purposes, and extending the ban on government announcements, representing a savings of $300 million by conservative estimates, the senator contends. Dalmau also expressed pleasure with the Senate’s approval of a motion he had filed to join the celebration of the family of nationalist leader Oscar López Rivera and the people of Puerto Rico upon López Rivera’s release from federal prison in May. Former President Barack Obama last week commuted the sentence of López Rivera, 74, who has been imprisoned for 36 years of a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. In 1988, he was sentenced to another 15 years in prison for an escape attempt.

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INDEX Local Mainland Business InternaƟonal Viewpoint Health Science

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Travel NoƟcias en Español Legal NoƟces Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons

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Juan Dalmau

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Monday, January 23, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star

More Trade Unions Blast Fiscal Control Board Letter By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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rade unions in Puerto Rico said late last week that the letter sent by the federal fiscal control board to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares “not only proves to be an ultimatum to the local administration with a view to approving the fiscal plan, but also reconfirms the serious threat it poses to the island and the quality of life of our people through the measures announced by the imposed body.” Roberto Pagán, president of the Puerto Rican Workers’ Union, said Friday that Puerto Rico faces a multi-billion dollar deficit, but the measures proposed by the so-called “junta,” combined with attacks such as labor reform, “will not address the deficit problem because they will lead to a major collapse in receipts.” Among other measures, the control board in its letter ordered the Rosselló government “to cut $3 billion in services and benefits to the people and to impose $1.5 billion in contributory charges,” the union leader said Friday. “Against this backdrop, the Puerto Rican labor movement once again raises its voice in denunciation of what it understands to be one more thrust against the damaged economic situation of the island and a catastrophic blow to the working class, the youth and the most vulnerable sectors of our society,” Pagán said. “This in order to secure $800 million in payments to bondholders in 2019 through measures that are unacceptable. “ He added that what was contained in the letter “not only distorts the future prospects of Puerto Ricans living on the island, but also raises major dilemmas for the country and sound public administration.” “Here are sectors that have been demanding a

Ricardo Rosselló debt audit for some time so that it is clear what the country’s real debt is, so that it can be determined if violations were committed to the law or the Constitution of Puerto Rico in the various [bond] issues and who are those really responsible for the debt,” he said. “Now the [federal oversight] board orders an audit, but it ignores the fact that there is already an Audit Committee composed of citizens from multiple sectors. The resources for the … audit should be assigned to the Commission that already exists, which [is highly qualified] and is representative of the Puerto Rican civil sector.” Meanwhile, Nelly Ayala, president of the School Lunchroom Employees Association, charged that “it is highly reprehensible that we want to continue to attribute fiscal adjustments to the working class while the governor, heads of agencies and leg-

islators only make cosmetic cuts to their privileges that will not affect their economic situation.” Gerson Guzmán of the General Workers’ Union pointed out that “when we talk about fiscal adjustments we have to put into perspective what they are.” “People have to know that when we talk about adjustments in terms of health services it is nothing but cutbacks in coverage and in the [governmentsponsored health plan] Mi Salud services received by thousands and thousands of citizens.” The union leader, whose organization represents hospital workers across the island, said the cuts will “brutally” impact the most disadvantaged sectors of the island that are beneficiaries of the Mi Salud program. Aida Díaz, president of the Teachers’ Association, said “judging from the cuts made by the board on the Department of Education, the picture turns out to be more and more devastating, since the cuts in education will have an appalling impact on our children, our young people and our future.” “This is not counting the impact it will have on retirees,” she said. “Reducing pensions to retired teachers, besides being foolish because of the effect it will have on this population that does not have social security, is to create a monumental problem for the country. We will see retired teachers on the streets begging and patients with no capacity to pay. The rest of the retired workers are also in a precarious situation because their pensions have already been affected by Law 3. Far from saving the country, they are sinking it by leaving it with no way out to develop the economy.” As reported by The STAR, on Thursday the Public Servants United of Puerto Rico made similar criticisms of the federal fiscal control board’s requirements.

Governor Appoints National Guard Adjutant General By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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ov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares appointed Gen. Isabelo Rivera as adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard late last week. General Rivera was commissioned as second lieutenant through the ROTC program of the University of Puerto Rico and has held several positions within the National Guard, including company commander, battalion commander, National Guard Property and Bud-

get officer, and head of the island’s Joint Chief of Staff. His civil education includes a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Puerto Rico, a master’s degree in business administration from Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico and a juris doctor degree in law from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico. In addition, Gen. Rivera’s military education includes courses in finance, supply management, logistical development, anti-terrorism and Inter-American defense, among others.

Gen. Rivera is a member of the United States National Guard Association, the Association of Officers of the National Guard of Puerto Rico, and the American Society of Military Auditors. The medals and recognitions of the new adjutant general include medals for Superior Defense Service, Meritorious Service, Commendation and Army Achievement, Achievements of the Army Reserve, National Defense Service, Army Service and National Service, as well as three Armed Forces Reserve medals.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 23, 2017

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Governor Criticizes Federal Control Board Orders P

uerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló is criticizing orders from a federal control board in the first clash over how best to tackle the island’s deep economic crisis. Rosselló said late last week that the board’s demands are unacceptable and differ greatly from his vision to promote

economic growth. His comments came Friday as his administration faces pressure to submit a revised fiscal plan this month and next month’s expiration of a stay on lawsuits filed by creditors. The control board on Wednesday ordered Rosselló’s

administration to present a plan that would generate $4.5 billion a year in revenue or savings through 2019. Officials said Puerto Rico should reform its tax system and reduce health care and higher education spending as well as the size of government.

SanSe Continues Today to Honor Rivera López By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected]

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he 47th San Sebastián Street Festival re-ignites today at 2 p.m. in a bow to nationalist prisoner Oscar López Rivera, whose federal sentence was commuted last week by then-President Obama. The normally four-day activity was extended through today by San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto to honor the 74-year-old activist, a native of the western island town of San Sebastián, which also celebrates the saint’s day. Many people wore T-shirts demanding freedom for López Rivera, 74, whose effigy -- the only one of a living person -- was greeted with waves and gestures of solidarity during the traditional opening procession last week. People took selfies with the “cabezudo” made by the Agua, Sol y Sereno Workshop, directed by Pedro Adorno. The festival, which usually ends before midnight on Sunday, has been extended until 7 p.m. today to honor López, for whose release Cruz had long lobbied. He will leave prison on May 17 after almost 36 years served for his involve-

ment with terrorist activities to promote Puerto Rican independence. Also part of last week’s opening procession, which preceded an evening of music throughout the Old City, was a vociferous protest of the federal PROMESA legislation that created the fiscal oversight board and the imposition by Washington of cutbacks to pay the island’s $70 billion public debt. Members of the collective Se Acabaron las Promesas (Promises Are Over), which has a camp outside the Federal Building in Hato Rey, marched the main party route in Old San Juan, shouting slogans against the board and rejecting “greater sacrifices” by workers and young people through cutting the minimum salary to $7.25 an hour. As their slogans echoed along the route, thousands of people lined San Sebastián Street from one end to the other and members of the collective waved Puerto Rican flags. “Those millionaires profit from the laws which never leave anything for the people, just impoverish us by taking away rights, increasing the cost of living,” the group said in a flyer. Posters -- “The debt is illegal; we are not going to pay it,” “Raise Your Voice,” “Women, Join the Struggle, We Are

Plastic Bag Law Raising Questions, Resistance By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected]

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he elimination of the use of plastic bags at island businesses, in accordance with a law that recently went into effect, has not put an end to complaints by environmentalists. The paper bags of yore, which many stores are buying and giving to customers, entail the killing of trees -- even if they are biodegradable -- many have protested. The paper bags are legal, but expensive, say store owners, but demanded by consumers, who they say have been slow to buy bags made of material. The president of the Association of Entrepreneurs for Puerto Rico, Enid Monge, said that only businesspeople are penalized by the new law because they must look for alterna-

tives to please consumers, who are not adapting well. She said manufacturers should be required to devise a bag that meets the criteria for being environmentally friendly. “A business person buys what is available,” she said. “They should establish a product for all that is good for the environment. Paper bags should not be used, but ones made of material are expensive and must be sold,” said Monge, noting that many stores already do so. Iván Báez, president of the Retail Commerce Association, called for more study into the effect of the paper bag on the environment and for re-evaluating them as a real option. “All businesses must obey the law, but the real purpose is [protecting] the environment,” he said. Some consumers have already begun to carry their own sturdy bags, while others even carry their groceries home in their bare hands.

Many,” “Education and Health First,” “No to Labor Reform,” “No Board, No Colony” -- dominated a long stretch of the street as part of the beginning of the festivities. A large papier mache rooster, a goat, and a horse marched to denounce PROMESA, the new control system called Suri and the public debt itself. The bomba group Arawak’Opia, directed by Omar Torres Kortright, from the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center in Chicago, provided a background for the parade, which also included the group Jóvenes del 98 (Youth of 98), a theater group whose director Maritza Rosado Pérez was honored by the Residents Association, students from the University Gardens Special Math and Science School, the Tamboricua Workshop and the Creative Judo group. Other giant figures who danced down the street depicted Rafael Balladares, who organized the San Sebastián festival for four decades; former San Juan Mayor Felisa Rincón; archaeologist Ricardo Alegría;, painter Rafael Tufiño; composer Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso; photojournalist Ismael Fernández, founder of the Photojournalism Workshop; singer Ruth Fernández; and actress Velda González, all of whom are deceased. Stores that do not comply with the law receive notifications until July 29, but after that date, the Consumer Affairs Department (DACO by its Spanish acronym) may impose fines of $100 for the first infraction, $150 for the second violation, and $200 for each subsequent violation. The money collected in fines will go into the Special Fund for the Reduction, Reutilization and Recycling of Solid Waste, part of the Solid Waste Authority (ADS in Spanish). Violators will have 30 days to request a review or pay the fine. Ten percent of the fine will be added for every month it is not paid.

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Monday, January 23, 2017

The San Juan Daily Star

Dog Dies in Police Rescuer’s Arms, Owner Charged By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected]

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ne dog died, and two others were rescued just in time after their owner moved away and left them in a Toa Baja backyard. The dogs, who were removed in an emergency intervention after they were found starving and abandoned, were in a “deplorable” state of health when they were found, police said. The owner of the dogs, Iris N. Rivera Nieves, 54, was arrested after police found one of the pets in his last moments of life, another chained with a padlock, and a third emaciated and tickinfested. Because one of the dogs was in imminent danger, the police obtained permission from District Attorney Lorna M. Rivera to enter the home on

an emergency basis. At the moment they picked up the dog, named Bayron, he gave a last sigh and died, police said. Veterinarian Osmar Rivera certified that the

owner’s failure to feed the dog and give him medical attention directly caused his death. Iris Quiñones, president of the Police Animal Cruelty Investigators Association, took custody of the other two dogs and collaborated in the investigation. Judge María Luz Rodríguez found probable cause for the arrest of Rivera Nieves and imposed $20,000 bail. Animal Cruelty Law 154 was passed in 2008 to improve on the then prevailing Law 67. It is considered one of the strongest and most complete such laws in the world, but is rarely enforced in Puerto Rico. The legislation provides for stiff fines and jail time for knowingly abusing or abandoning an animal. Several police departments have specialized personnel with training in animal handling and knowledge of the law.

Couple Indicted on Bank Fraud Charges By JOHN McPHAUL [email protected]

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federal grand jury in the Puerto Rico district has charged María Cristina Cotto Ortiz with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, federal prosecutor Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez said late last week. The woman faces charges of theft, embezzlement, bank fraud, making a false enrollment in a book, report or statement from a federally insured bank, aggravated identity theft and for exceeding authorized access to a protected computer. Her husband, Natanael Pacheco Martínez, is also accused because knowing that a crime was being committed he helped Cotto Ortiz by hindering and preventing her apprehension, trial and punishment. According to the indictment made public on Friday, Cotto Ortiz, second in charge at Oriental Bank in Ceiba, also stole from an older couple who deposited in the financial institution. Cotto Ortiz’s total theft is estimated at more than $768,800. In 2006, according to the indictment, Cotto Ortiz approached the victims and claimed that she had been authorized by Oriental to offer a

high interest rate to two clients. The victims, who knew Cotto Ortiz and trusted her, opened a checking and savings account, initially transferring $160,000. Based on the woman’s pledges to raise interest rates, they deposited more than $400,000 over a five-year period, which represented their life savings. The defendant, on numerous occasions according to the indictment, accepted deposits from the victims, but did not deposit the funds in Oriental or registered their receipt in the computer system. At other times, Cotto Ortiz withdrew money from one of the victim’s accounts without his permission or knowledge. In addition, while working at the bank, she took money from the bank vault without authorization and against banking policy, making false entries in the bank’s ledger to avoid detection of the theft. In other efforts to conceal her criminal activity, and after

being dismissed from her job in February 2012, Cotto Ortiz and Pacheco Martínez met with the victims and gave them a check for $500 as payment to delay detection of the scheme. If found guilty, Cotto Ortiz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Pacheco Martínez faces half of Cotto Ortiz’s maximum legal penalty.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 23, 2017

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By DANICA COTO

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nother long holiday weekend is starting, and tourists are flocking by ferry and small plane to Vieques, a tiny island off the coast of Puerto Rico that’s famed for bright turquoise waters, lush mangrove forests and picturesque free-roaming horses. In an empty lot near the $500-anight W Retreat & Spa, a man with a gun is stalking some of those mares. He slowly walks toward a group of brown and white horses, raises a pistol and fires. A brown mare kicks her hind legs and sprints away. Richard LaDez, director of security for The Humane Society of the United States, picks up a contraceptive dart that fell from the horse’s rump and declares, “We’re good!” He gives a thumb’s up to a team waging an unusual fight to control a tourist attraction that’s become something close to a plague on the island, best known as the site of a former U.S. military bombing range. First imported by Spanish colonists, horses are used by many of Vieques’ 9,000-odd residents for running errands, taking children to school, transporting fishermen to their boats, competing in informal races between teenage boys and delivering late-night

drinkers back home. They’re adored by tourists, who love taking pictures of them eating mangos and frolicking on the beaches. Many locals keep their horses in open fields near the sea, where they graze until they’re needed next. Feeding and sheltering a confined horse on an island with a median income of less than $20,000 a year is out of reach for many. Some horses are branded, many are not and a few just run wild. Officials say that as a result, it’s nearly impossible to control the horse population and hold owners accountable when trouble occurs. The population has grown to an estimated 2,000 animals that break water pipes to quench their thirst, knock over garbage cans in search of food and die in car crashes that have increased as tourists flock to Vieques, which grew in popularity after the U.S. Navy shuttered military operations in the early 2000s. “There are more and more horses all the time,” said Vieques Mayor Victor Emeric. “It’s not that easy to solve this problem.” Desperate, Emeric called the Humane Society, which agreed to launch a five-year program of dispatching teams to Vieques armed with compressed-air rifles, pistols and hundreds of darts loaded with the animal contraceptive PZP.

Carlos Giusti

Vieques Tackles OverPopulation of Horses

Tourists walk by a horse grazing on the side of the road in Vieques on Jan. 14. The program began in November and picked up speed with a two-day push by about a dozen volunteers and Humane Society employees over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. More than 160 mares have been darted and Humane Society officials say they expect to inject virtually all the island’s mares with contraceptives by the end of the year. The program will cost up to $200,000 a year to run and is funded entirely through donations. Stephanie Boyles Griffin, the Humane Society’s senior director of wildlife fertility control programs, said she expects the horses to be healthier and live longer, noting that the oldest horses on Vieques are 7 to 10 years old, while the average lifespan for wild horses is 15 to 20 years. On a recent weekend morning, members of one darting team peered through their binoculars as they waited for an opening to shoot a mare that

was due for a booster shot. “It’s hard to confirm who’s who,” said team leader Kali Pereira as she flipped through a binder containing files identifying all the horses that had already received their first shot. The logistics of darting are tricky. Wildlife experts have to identify hundreds of mares (sometimes by the direction in which their mane falls), register their GPS coordinates, photograph them, assign them a number and give them their first shot. Then they have to find them again several weeks later to give them a second injection that they’ll receive annually. Pereira squinted and took her shot. The dart whizzed through the air and landed on the rump of a horse that kicked up its hind legs and ran off. The rest of the herd joined her, their manes flying out of sight. The team sighed. They still had to dart several more mares in that group. Continues on page 8

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8 From page 7 Many locals have embraced the darting program and took dozens of their horses to a Humane Society-sponsored event for contraceptive shots and deworming. Among them was 19-yearold Jesus Miranda, who said his family owns six to eight horses that he rides several times a week.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 23, 2017

“It’s in our blood, you understand?” said Miranda, who knows his horses’ birthdays by heart. He brought two horses to the event, Wifi and Burro Fly, which mingled with other horses including one named Gringo, which had pale blue eyes. Helping organizers was Juan Feliciano, a fisherman who said he owns 23

horses but only keeps nine of them at his house. “Almost everybody here grew up on a horse,” he said. “Nobody taught me how to ride a horse. They taught me how to ride a beast. They threw me atop and told me, ‘Learn.’” Emeric, the Vieques mayor, said he believes the vaccination program will

keep the horses healthy and attract more tourists. It was welcome news for Juan Angel Santos, a 54-year-old construction worker who said he couldn’t imagine Vieques without horses. “I prefer to ride horses because I never learned how to drive,” he said. “It’s best to be on a horse.”

PR Flu 5-Fold More Widespread Than Last Season By PEGGY ANN BLISS Special to The STAR [email protected]

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he number of flu cases in Puerto Rico is almost five times greater than at the same time last year, according to recently released figures from the island Health Department. Confirmed cases numbered 16,232 at mid-January, compared to 3,392 at the same time last year, the agency reported last week.

The weekly number of flu cases rose for the third consecutive time in the second week of January, with Caguas being the most hard-hit region. A total of 895 new cases was reported for the week of Jan. 8 to 14. This was up from 841 cases the previous week, and 640 new cases in the last week of 2016. Compared to the second week of the previous flu season (2015-2016), the cases reported represented an increase of 12,840 this season.

Although Caguas has been the hardest hit over the first two weeks of the new year, the region with the most cases so far in the 20162017 season is Mayagüez, while towns with the highest influenza incidence are Rincón and Aibonito, followed by San Germán, Jayuya, Coamo, Caguas, Patillas and Yabucoa. There were 36 hospitalizations during week two of January (more than double the 16 the previous week). The week two statis-

tics also indicate that 2,304 people were presently infected with this highly contagious respiratory illness, transmitted in saliva through sneezing or coughing. Most reported cases (9,062) have been influenza A, whereas the other 6,930 have been influenza B and 240 both A and B. Children under nine years old are in the two hardest-hit age groups this year; more than half of the afflicted have been younger than 20.

Puerto Rico Life Insurance Co. MAPFRE to Pay $2.2 Million HIPAA Settlement By The STAR Staff

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APFRE Life Insurance Company of Puerto Rico has agreed to implement a corrective action plan and pay $2.2 million to te U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to settle claims it violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). MAPFRE, a subsidiary of Spainbased MAPFRE S.A., underwrites and administers health insurance plans and products in Puerto Rico. According to a Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review report posted late last week, the settlement is ba-

sed on MAPFRE’s “impermissible disclosure of unsecured electronic protected health information [ePHI].” On Sept. 29, 2011, MAPFRE filed a report with the OCR claiming a USB device was left in its IT department unguarded overnight and was subsequently stolen. The USB device contained the ePHI of 2,209 patients, including their complete names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. In the report, MAPFRE told the OCR it was able to identify the breached ePHI by reconstituting the data on the computer the USB device was attached to, according to Becker’s. After investigating the incident,

the OCR determined that contrary to MAPFRE’s previous declarations, MAPFRE did not conduct a proper risk analysis or implement risk management plans. The OCR also found MAPFRE did not deploy

encryption on its laptops and removable storage devices until Sept. 1, 2014. Additionally, MAPFRE either delayed implementing or failed to implement other corrective actions it told OCR it would complete.