Comunicados de Prensa

San Juan – At the start of the 2025 hurricane season and in connection with the reorganization of the Department of Housing's Emergency Management component, the director of the agency's Office of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration, Mr. Antonio Morales Rivera, met with the Department's interagency and zone coordinators, the Public Housing Administration (PHA), and the Disaster Recovery Office (CDBG-DR/MIT).

This meeting formally introduced the official to this group and served as a framework for future meetings with the Department's Municipal Coordinators, who are part of the emergency component of each of the island's 78 municipalities and represent Housing in the event of an emergency or disaster.

The Department's Undersecretary, Omar Figueroa, welcomed Mr. Morales Rivera, saying, "He comes from the municipality of Bayamón. We cordially welcome him to our agency, where he has been working with emergency plans for a few weeks. He comes from the Engineering and Construction department. Previously, for approximately 25 years, he was the supervisor or manager of the Rescue Departments of the Municipal Emergency Management Offices in the cities of Toa Baja and Bayamón."

Figueroa thanked all those present who are supervisors or office managers of the Department, PVP, and CDBG-DR/MIT in the agency's 10 regional offices on the island. "On behalf of Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña, we thank you, some of you who are new, for your commitment to stepping forward and serving the citizens we must serve in the event of an emergency," the official stated.

For his part, AVP Deputy Administrator Alberto Fradera thanked the Public Housing employees, "who, along with our administrative agents, are the ones who manage the shelters that open as they are opened in an emergency or disaster. We will be with you, and you can count on me and Administrator Juan Rosario Hernández to assist you in this process."

Finally, Mr. Morales Rivera stated, "We are developing a new methodology and structure to address any emergency and assist our citizens. Whether it's a fire, a landslide, a flood, or a storm, or a hurricane, it doesn't matter. With this new structure, when there's an emergency, we'll immediately activate and communicate with the chain of command we've established to quickly and effectively assist our citizens. I can tell you that this will be the first of several meetings and training sessions we'll have throughout the rest of the year. Although we started a few weeks ago and we're in hurricane season, our goal is to work efficiently for the citizens of the Island, which is the responsibility of our Secretary, Ciary Pérez Peña."