Senate evaluates nominees for Housing secretary, Patient Advocate
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The Puerto Rico Senate’s Committee on Innovation, Reform and Appointments held a confirmation hearing Monday to evaluate Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón’s nominees for secretary of the Department of Housing and Patient Advocate.
The committee, chaired by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, considered the appointment of attorney Luis Augusto Martínez Román as Housing secretary and Dr. Catherine L. Oliver Franco as Patient Advocate. The panel also reviewed the nominations of two minors’ affairs advocates and an Auxiliary Prosecutor I.
Martínez Román outlined his experience in public service and the legal field, including previous roles as administrator of La Fortaleza, associate commissioner of the Public Service Appellate Commission and adviser to the governor.
“My vocation as a public servant requires me to act with empathy, honesty and a sense of urgency,” Martínez Román said during his testimony.
Martínez Román highlighted his background in public service and law, pointing to previous roles as administrator of La Fortaleza, associate commissioner of the Public Service Appellate Commission, and adviser to the governor.
The nominee said he would assume leadership of the Housing Department at “a decisive moment for Puerto Rico,” stressing the need to accelerate the use of federal funds and ensure that allocated resources translate into concrete benefits for residents.
Martínez Román said the department manages about $20.6 billion in CDBG funds, of which roughly $15.4 billion has been obligated and about $5.8 billion has been disbursed. He said his immediate priority would be to move obligated funds into construction projects and ensure that each dollar results in housing, infrastructure and economic development.
Meanwhile, during her appearance before the committee, Dr. Oliver Franco, who currently serves as administrator of the Mental Health and Anti-Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA), said she accepts the nomination “not as a personal recognition, but as a commitment to serve the people of Puerto Rico.” She added that her goal would be to lead “a Patient Advocate’s Office that is firm in its oversight role, accessible to citizens, sensitive to human suffering and determined to defend the rights of every patient.”
Senate President Rivera Schatz addressed the proposed transition of Oliver Franco from ASSMCA to the Patient Advocate’s Office, noting that the agency currently requires additional resources to meet its objectives at this stage.
“You are at ASSMCA, and they want to move you to the Patient Advocate’s Office. Then they should provide you with the resources you need, because otherwise, you may have all the experience, but if the resources are not there to do the job, you are going to run into the reality of not being able to serve the population you are supposed to assist,” Rivera Schatz said.
Dr. Catherine L. Oliver Franco speaks during a public hearing following her designation, where she outlined her commitment to patient advocacy, mental health services, and strengthening oversight within Puerto Rico’s healthcare system.
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