Puerto Rico Budget Director Says $2B Didn’t 'Miraculously Appear'

Responding to stories in The Bond Buyer and at least one other news outlet, Director of the Puerto Rico Office of Management and Budget Luis Cruz Batista said his office has been aware of Puerto Rico's $2 billion in segregated funds all along.

"It is not that $2 billion miraculously appeared," Cruz Batista tweeted Thursday, after Bond Buyer reported Wednesday that Puerto Rico had "located" money that could be used for general purposes. "These funds have always been there. What we want to do is to give them greater visibility and transparency."

Similarly, Cruz Batista said in a press statement, "The objective with this initiative is to add visibility and transparency to the use of these funds that actually are not under the radar of the OMB."

In the project the OMB and the Puerto Rico Treasury Department compiled a list of 150 segregated accounts outside the General Fund with the money.

Use of the funds is restricted by law, Cruz Batista said. However, it is possible that Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla may call for a special session of the legislature before the end of the fiscal year to consider legislation to allow the use of the funds for general purposes.

The funds were also reported in El Vocero, which said the money was "discovered" as a result of a review of the accounts over at least 10 months.

The commonwealth government is in the midst of a financial crisis, after defaulting on over $800 million of debt on July 1.

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