Coccoloba denies it bid for the $38.5 million Family Department contract
The Camuy firm says it only answered an email declining to compete, while Secretary Suzanne Roig says she never claimed it filed a formal proposal. Governor Jenniffer González says she will not remove her.
The short version
- Coccoloba AgroEnvironmental says its only response was a January 8 email declining an invitation to bid
- Secretary Roig says she told the Senate the firm sent information about its services, not a formal proposal
- El Nuevo Día reports LAP Consulting scored Coccoloba at 24.7% alongside NOLA Education and Litoral Vivo
- Governor González told reporters she will not dismiss Roig and still has full confidence in her
What the company says it sent
Coccoloba AgroEnvironmental LLC said on Thursday that it never submitted a proposal for the Family Department procurement that was awarded to NOLA Education. In a written statement reported by El Nuevo Día, the environmental-consulting and tree-care firm, which Primera Hora says is based in Camuy, said its only involvement was answering, on January 8, 2026, an email received on December 30, 2025, in order to decline the invitation. The company said it sent that reply only to Secretary Suzanne Roig Fuertes, attaching a brochure and a profile of its services, and that answering an invitation or sharing general information "no equivale, por ese solo hecho, a presentar una propuesta."
El Nuevo Día reported that the firm's lawyer, Nadja Cardona Portalatín, said the company has not ruled out action against the department or Roig if the documents attributed to it are not produced, and that it gave the agency five calendar days to hand over a complete copy of any proposal credited to it, with proof of sending or receipt, or to say in writing that none exists and correct the record publicly. Metro reported the same deadline and said the letter was signed by the firm's owner, Christian Torres Santana.
What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
La inclusión de nuestro nombre en una evaluación administrativa tampoco acredita que hayamos sometido una propuesta.
Our translation: Including our name in an administrative evaluation does not show that we submitted a proposal either.
The source's own statement, as quoted by Metro Puerto Rico. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Incluso, ante las preguntas del Senado, reiteré que esta última empresa había sometido una comunicación e información adjunta, no una propuesta formal.
Our translation: Even under the Senate's questions, I repeated that this last company had submitted a communication and attached information, not a formal proposal.
The source's own statement, as quoted by Metro Puerto Rico. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
What the secretary says she testified
Roig responded that she never told the Senate the firm filed a formal proposal. In a statement quoted by Metro and Primera Hora, she said three companies sent material to the email set up for the process, that two filed extensive proposals, and that a third sent a communication with documents describing the programs and services it offers. She said she had repeated that distinction under the senators' questioning, and Metro quoted her calling it irrelevant to keep arguing about a matter in which no contract was awarded and no funds were disbursed.
Speaking to El Nuevo Día by phone, Roig said Coccoloba submitted information describing its services and that, with those documents in hand, it would not have been responsible to file them away, so the department had them evaluated. Asked whether what arrived was a brochure, she said that depended on how one looked at it. The paper reported that she said the department's legal division is reviewing the lawyer's request.
The contract under investigation
El Nuevo Día reported that the procurement, for educational services through a program called Star Academy, was awarded to NOLA Education for a $38.5 million contract to be paid with federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds through the Family Socioeconomic Development Administration, known as ADSEF. It reported that LAP Consulting, the firm hired to evaluate proposals, scored Coccoloba at 24.7% alongside NOLA Education and Litoral Vivo. Metro described the figure as $38 million and said the contract was never granted.
El Vocero reported that former ADSEF administrator Blanca Medina Díaz and Roig gave conflicting accounts at Wednesday's Senate hearing. Primera Hora reported that Medina says Roig pressured her to sign the agreement, which Medina has called illegal, and that she was dismissed for alleged insubordination. El Vocero also reported that Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz wrote in his morning social media message that the secretary had told the Senate that Coccoloba submitted a proposal that LAP Consulting evaluated.
Primera Hora reported that Medina confirmed to El Nuevo Día on Tuesday that she went to the FBI as a witness. Asked on Thursday whether federal prosecutors are investigating, acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó said he would neither confirm nor rule out any angle, but that where there are federal funds and evidence of misuse, federal agencies will investigate. He added that the secretary's Senate appearance has nothing to do with matters under federal investigation, Primera Hora reported.
The governor's defense
Governor Jenniffer González defended Roig on Thursday and said she would not remove her. El Nuevo Día quoted her telling reporters, "No voy a destituir a la funcionaria," and saying the secretary answered every question over several hours and brought the evidence for each document. The paper reported that González described the Senate inquiry, led by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, as opposition to her administration, and that she argued Coccoloba would not have sent its service breakdown if it had no intention of being considered.
Separately, El Vocero reported that Senator Ada Álvarez Conde filed a complaint with the Comptroller's Office and the Office of the Inspector General asking why the evaluation of proposals was delegated to LAP Consulting Group when, she said, ADSEF already had an evaluation committee, and why a clause covering proposal evaluation appeared only in a July 2026 contract renewal, months after the work.
Where the sources differ
The sharpest disagreement is over what Coccoloba's January email amounted to and what Roig said about it. Rivera Schatz, as reported by El Vocero, says she told the Senate the firm submitted a proposal; she says she described it only as a communication with attached information, and told NotiUno, "Yo nunca he dicho que ellos sometieron una propuesta." The company says declining an invitation and enclosing a brochure is not a proposal, and El Nuevo Día reports it was scored at 24.7% anyway. Roig says she drew exactly that distinction under oath and that there is no contradiction. The price is also stated two ways: El Nuevo Día and El Vocero say $38.5 million, while Metro says $38 million. Whether the contract was awarded or only drafted is described differently as well: El Nuevo Día reports that it emerged at the hearing that Roig had awarded it to NOLA in January while still awaiting a federal opinion, and that it was never formalized; Metro says it was never granted.
What the reports do not say
None of the reports publishes the text of Coccoloba's January email or of the evaluation sheet, and none says whether the Family Department will hand over the documents within the five days the company set. No report says what Litoral Vivo submitted, whether any TANF money was spent, or what the Education Department's written objection said beyond El Nuevo Día's report that the department found Star Academy did not align with its needs. No one involved has been charged with a crime in any of these accounts. El Nuevo Día reports the matter is being examined by the Office of the Inspector General, the Senate, the Justice Department and the FBI.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was written. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting Coccoloba refuta a Suzanne Roig: niega haber sometido propuesta en proceso adjudicado a NOLA Education
- Reporting “Contestó todas y cada una de las preguntas”: firme Jenniffer González en su defensa de Suzanne Roig
- Reporting Secretaria de Familia niega haber dicho que Coccoloba presentó propuesta
- Reporting ¿Qué le responde la secretaria de la Familia a Coccoloba por el bollete del polémico contrato de 38.5 millones?
- Reporting Rivera Schatz arremete contra secretaria de la Familia tras nueva contradicción por contrato de $38.5 millones
- Reporting Senadora pide investigar por qué Familia recurrió a firma privada para evaluar propuestas de servicios educativos
- Reporting Fiscalía federal habla de controvertible contrato de $38.5 millones en Adsef
- Reporting VIDEO - Suzanne Roig responde al presidente de la compañía Coccoloba y reafirma su lealtad a la gobernadora
How we checked this
The exchange was reported by El Nuevo Día, Metro, Primera Hora, El Vocero and NotiUno, drawing on Coccoloba's written statement, Roig's statement and phone interview, and Wednesday's Senate hearing. The governor's defense was reported by El Nuevo Día from her remarks to reporters.
This article was written by The PuertoRico.com Newsroom with AI tools, from the reports and statements listed above. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Tell us through the About page.