the municipal group Reboot BenissaThrough its spokesperson, Juan Carlos Mut, the party held a press conference to denounce what it described as a violation of the right to information of the council members of the corporation. According to the DevelopmentThis right "The City Council is systematically failing to comply."This would hinder the oversight and monitoring work that corresponds to the opposition.
Juan Carlos Mut, spokesperson for the municipal group Reiniciem Benissa, during the press conferenceReiniciem maintains that there is a institutional blockade Based on the use of administrative silence, procedural delays, and the passing of responsibilities between the Mayor's office and the Municipal Secretary's office, the group believes this dynamic prevents timely access to relevant files needed to verify the actions of the local government.
Mut has also announced that he has registered the complaint with the City Council itself and has already submitted a written statement to the OmbudsmanOn the other hand, the spokesperson for Reiniciem has indicated that they are also considering pursuing legal action through the administrative courts and the criminal courts. Among the measures they are studying are actions against the mayor and the municipal secretary, whom they consider to play a key role in guaranteeing administrative legality.
Access to municipal records
The core of the complaint lies in access to municipal documentation. Reiniciem claims that information requests submitted by its representatives go unanswered within the established deadlines and that, when they attempt to exercise their right to access the information through administrative silence, they encounter further obstacles.
As Mut explained, both the Benissa Municipal Organic Regulations such as Regulations on the Organization, Operation and Legal Framework of Local Entities They establish that requests for information from members of the corporation must be understood as accepted if there is no reasoned refusal within the period of five calendar days.
However, Reiniciem maintains that in practice the City Council does not respond within that timeframe and that, when they go to the relevant department to consult the documentation, they are required to provide a certificate of administrative silence beforehand. The group denounces that this requirement creates a further delay, because the Secretariat has 15 days to issue that certificate and, according to the group, sometimes it is not delivered and finally the requested information is provided in a partial or different way than requested.
The "loop" between the Mayor's Office and the Secretariat
Mut has described this situation as a administrative "loop"According to the Reiniciem spokesperson, when access to information is requested, the Mayor's office passes the responsibility to the Municipal Secretary, claiming that it is the Secretary who must grant access. In turn, the Secretary refers the decision back to the Mayor's office, stating that it is the Mayor who signs the authorization decrees.
The result, according to the municipal group, is that applications become trapped in a cycle of overlapping responsibilities, ultimately delaying or preventing access to the files. Reiniciem believes this practice directly affects the right to participation political of public representatives, because without documentation they cannot properly exercise oversight of the municipal government.
The group argues that this is not a one-off delay due to workload or lack of staff, but a continuous dynamic that, in their opinion, creates a scenario of institutional defenselessness for the opposition.
Reiniciem points out some cases
Mut has revealed some of the cases on which he bases his complaint about the "administrative loop" when claiming access to information and has explained that the situation began to attract their attention when they requested access to a file related to Patmore.
One of the cases involved the bidding process for the operation of the community center's bar. According to Mut, speaking at the press conference, the winning company submitted a proposal that did not meet the minimum technical requirements for bathroom renovations, both in terms of the sanitary fixtures and the required regulatory compliance. Reiniciem maintains that, despite the technical report acknowledging this non-compliance, the proposal was scored and not excluded from the process.
The group compares this case to other procurement processes in which, it claims, non-compliance with technical specifications has resulted in the automatic exclusion of bids. Therefore, it requested access to the complete reports and documentation justifying the winning company's continued participation in the process. Ultimately, it was only granted access to the procurement file.
Another case cited was the excavation carried out in the old cemetery of Benissa in search of the remains of international brigadistas. Reiniciem claims that there is a total opacity Regarding this case and the handling of the skeletal remains, as, up until the press conference on Tuesday, May 26, and pending the plenary session later that month, they had not received a response to their request. According to the group, remains were transferred from the old cemetery to the new cemetery without proper custody or an official record. The group also indicates that the Public Prosecutor's Office has requested documentation from the City Council on two occasions.
Complaint to the Ombudsman and warning to the Secretariat
Given the accumulation of cases, Reiniciem has reported the filing of a complaint with the OmbudsmanIn it, they detail the incidents that, in their view, reflect obstruction of access to municipal information. The group maintains that The Ombudsman has already identified previously to the Benissa Town Hall as a hostile entity due to their recurring lack of response. The group uses this precedent to reinforce its argument that this is not an isolated conflict.
Furthermore, the Reiniciem spokesperson reported that a document addressed to the Municipal Secretary has been registered with the City Council to warn of their duty to ensure legality and the effective fulfillment of the right of public representatives to access municipal information.
Reiniciem is exploring the contentious-administrative and criminal avenues
Finally, Mut announced that they are considering filing an appeal through administrative litigation against the City Council for violation of fundamental rights. Specifically, they link the lack of access to the files to a possible infringement of the right to political participation and oversight of government actions.
According to the information provided, Reiniciem is also preparing a possible complaint against the mayor and another against the municipal secretary before the College of Secretaries. In the latter case, the group plans to request disqualification through their professional association for an alleged breach of their duties as guarantor of legality.
The group bases its position on the fact that access to information is not a political concession from the local government, but a recognized right of the members of the corporation in order to be able to exercise their public office.
Mut has cited several legal precedents to support his warning that failure to provide documentation can lead to convictions for violations of fundamental rights. Among the cases mentioned is BenahavísIn Malaga, where there are references to convictions for concealing urban planning information, or the case of Moncada, where the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community would have condemned the corporation for violating the right to political participation by concealing documentation.
