The Vox deputy in Les Corts and president of the investigative commission on public protection housing (VPP) of Les Naus, Ana Vega, presented this Thursday a document in the autonomous chamber to request that the next session of this body, initially scheduled for the days 20 and 22 of October, be postponed to a new date "that will be specified in a new request that will be formulated in due course."
Although the registered document does not detail the reasons for the postponement, sources from Vox explain that the intention is "to avoid interference in the electoral process" of 29N, since "there is a judicial process that is following its course" regarding the allocations of the housing of the Les Naus residential complex in Playa de San Juan (Alicante), "so that it is not used opportunistically and politically by any political party."
The commission of Les Naus in Les Corts, which had not met since before the summer, was convened for October 20 and 22 with a total of 12 witnesses, six in each session. The now-paralyzed list included four individuals under investigation in the judicial case regarding the allocations of this complex, among them the father-in-law –who is also the owner of an apartment in Les Naus– of the former councilor of Urbanism of the Alicante City Council for the PP, Rocío Gómez –also an awardee of a housing unit, who resigned from her position after this fact became known and who is among the 15 indicted in court–.
Likewise, the treasurer of the Sant Joan d'Alacant City Council and the architect of the Alicante council, who is the partner of the official –and also indicted– from the Conselleria de Vivienda responsible for the visas of the promotion, were also to appear, in addition to two children and a nephew of María Pérez-Hickman, head of Contracting of the Alicante City Council who is also indicted and who submitted her resignation as general director of Internal Organization, Public Contracting, and Fund Management in the council after it became known that these three relatives of hers were awarded properties in Les Naus.
In relation to the delay of these appearances, Vox argues that "housing is the issue that has motivated the electoral advance" and that it is a matter "sensitive enough, important and serious enough to be treated in a serious, precise manner and with the rigor it deserves." "The investigative commission of the VPP of Alicante is postponed so that it is not instrumentalized by any political party," the same sources emphasize.
Furthermore, they maintain that this parliamentary body "is following a line of work that has allowed for the clarification of key events regarding the issue of Les Naus such as the statements of Toni Gallego or the indictment by the court of the leadership of the cooperative regarding possible irregularities committed in the distribution of the homes after its passage through the commission." "What demonstrates that it is a serious commission and in which work is being done rigorously to clarify responsibilities," they insist.
Compromís accuses Vox of protecting the PP
From Compromís, on the other hand, Vox and its president, Santiago Abascal, are accused of being "cowards" for pushing this postponement without setting a new date for the sessions of the Les Naus commission in Les Corts. "This maneuver protects the PP and hinders progress in clarifying a scandal that directly affects the right to housing of the people of Alicante," states the spokesperson for Housing of the Valencianist coalition, Mª José Calabuig.
In her view, this decision reproduces in Les Corts "the political protection that Vox has offered to the PP in the Alicante City Council," where the municipal commission concluded without a consensus report, an outcome she describes as a "false closure" that leaves political responsibilities unaddressed. "Instead of putting means to find out what has happened, they put up obstacles. First in the City Council and now in Les Corts: when it is necessary to demand explanations from the PP, Vox stands by their side," she denounces in a statement.
Compromís emphasizes that the request for postponement occurs on the same day that the deputies of Vox were not present during the minute of silence held this Thursday in the plenary of Les Corts in memory of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman evicted from her home in Madrid on September 23 and who passed away this Wednesday in a hospital after becoming a symbol of the fight for the right to housing: "Today Vox has shown itself to be a miserable party by being absent from the minute of silence due to the death of Maricarmen. And on the same day, they allow themselves to be manipulated like puppets by the PP to postpone the commission of Las Naus and cover up the mayor of Alicante," the 'popular' Luis Barcala.