Puerto Rico Telecom Board has new president, member
Attorney Javier Rúa-Jovet
The Puerto Rico Senate confirmed Thursday the appointments of attorneys Javier Rúa-Jovet and María Milagros Reyes as president and associate member, respectively, of the Puerto Rico Telecommuncations Regulatory Board.
Their appointments push the number of board members from three to five, and leave the future of current board President Sandra Torres pending. If she does not resign, she will be bumped down to an associate member position, according to the recently approved Law 11 that paved the way for the new appointments and expanded board.
“On behalf of attorney Reyes, and myself, I appreciate the vote of confidence from both delegations who today agreed to our nominations. We’re deeply honored by Gov. Alejandro García-Padilla’s nomination, and the Senate’s ratification,” Rúa-Jovet said.
“Now, we’ll get to work on maintaining and improving free competition and maximizing the growth opportunities that are there,” said Rúa-Jovet, who served as legal adviser to the TRB under the tenure of its first president, Phoebe Forsythe-Isales.
Late last month, this media outlet broke the story on the two appointments, which were quickly moved through the legislature for public hearings and a vote by both chambers.
On Thursday, Senate President Eduardo Bhatia said a person was found for the post “who has vision, who has the sensibility of the people, who understands…the technical and regulatory aspects, how the Federal Communications Commission regulates, and is someone who posseses many traits, but also understands the human side.”
“We have a leader, a forward-thinking person, a trained lawyer who is ready to be the leader in creating this new institution, this new area is needed in Puerto Rico, which is the area of telecommunications,” Bhatia said, upon requesting a unanimous vote for his confirmation.
Attorney María Milagros Reyes
Rúa-Jovet received tri-partisan support Thursday, as did María Milagros Reyes, who will now occupy a seat as associate member of the TRB.
His professional background includes stints as deputy secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources under the Aníbal Acevedo Vilá administration and at the Environmental Quality Board. His expertise focuses on natural resources law, land-use, telecom, administrative, and international law.
Meanwhile, Reyes, who retired from Claro/Puerto Rico Telephone in May 2001 after 30 years, has an extensive track record of education and professional experience in the industry. While at PRT, she occupied 10 different positions related to legal, regulatory, financial, technical, customer service, operational and management of both wireless and wired operations.
As one of the original authors of the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Law that created the TRB, I’m very satisfied that this appointment follows in the longstanding tradition, set under all governors since, in selecting TRB chairs with the competence and commitment of Phoebe Forsythe Isales, Miguel Reyes and Sandra Torres in the past.
Senator McClintock:
I am deeply honored by your statement.