The Liberal Initiative (IL) in the Lisbon Municipal Assembly criticized on Tuesday the mayor’s attitude towards the director of the City Licensing Department, Luisa Aparicio, accused of passive corruption, questioning why she remained in this position.
“Respecting the presumption of innocence to which every person is entitled, the Liberal Initiative does not understand the duality of criteria that leads to the fact that a councilor accused by the prosecutor’s office suspends his mandate, which no longer happens with the intermediate head of the chamber who is in the same situation,” says the Illinois municipal deputy Angelica da Teresa in a request addressed to the President of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly Rosário Farmhouse (PS).
In the request, IL recalls the statements of Mayor Carlos Moedas (NSD) about the situation with the director of the City Licensing Department: “I am a political leader and it is very important to clarify this, because whoever the employee must be protected.”
Carlos Moedas’ statements were made on Friday, as part of a municipal initiative in which he was questioned about the situation of Luisa Aparicio, and he refused to comment on the specific case, emphasizing that as mayor he set an example when he recently demanded the removal from office of a councilor accused Ministry of State (MP).
Luisa Aparicio was accused by a deputy of a crime of passive corruption, as well as of malfeasance allegedly committed while she was the municipal director of the department of urbanism and environment in the chamber of Vila Nova de Gaia in the district of Porto between June 2015 until October 2022. , an indictment that is part of Operation Babylon, which is investigating alleged violations of rules and regulations in city licensing processes to benefit promoters associated with high-density, high-scale projects.
Some 300 million euros worth of real estate interests are at stake through the offer and acceptance of cash rewards, according to the MP, who has accused 16 defendants of dozens of economic crimes, through several real estate projects in Vila Nova de Gaia.
In the request, the municipal group IL also recalls that the mayor of Lisbon recently made “a clear distinction between the status of the defendant and the accused” to justify the suspension of the functions of one of his councilors in the case of Diogo Moura (CDS -PP), while Angelo Pereira was accused of maintaining the position of councilor (SDP).
“The decision to leave the position of director of the City Licensing Department is even more strange, given that she went from accused to accused,” IL emphasizes.
In this sense, the IL poses four questions to the chamber to clarify the situation, namely: “does the municipal executive body not consider the fact that the head of the chamber is accused of a corruption crime while performing similar functions as sufficient grounds?” for her dismissal from this leadership position.”
“What reasons does the executive branch consider appropriate and relevant for refusing to replace the director of the department? Does the Executive consider that retaining the Director in the current circumstances is detrimental to the City Council in general and the City Planning Service in particular? Considering this, in the current situation, is the executive branch planning to take precautionary measures regarding the city licensing department?
As part of the municipal executive branch, PS has already requested an independent review of the activities carried out by the director of the City Licensing Department, and BE has submitted a request to find out whether the mayor maintains confidence in Louise Aparicio.
Emphasizing political responsibility towards elected politicians, in response to reporters on Friday, Carlos Moedas refused to comment on the situation of the director of the City Licensing Department: “It is not me, as the president of the chamber, who judges a person who is an employee of the chamber.”
The 17-member executive body of the Lisbon Chamber includes the seven elected members of the Novos Tempos coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Alliance), who are the only ones entrusted with responsibilities and who rule without an absolute majority – three from PS, two from PCP, three from Cidadaãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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