House Economic Development and Planning Committee Chairman José Chico charged Tuesday that at least $16 million in funds that were supposed to go to economically help communities affected by the closing of the now defunct U.S. Naval Base in Roosevelt Roads, did not reach their stated destination.

Chico made his remarks following testimony given to his committee Tuesday — that  around $16 million that were supposed to help communities around Roosevelt Roads remain unaccounted for. The funds were earmarked during the Sila Calderón administration.

Carlos Rodríguez Rivera, executive director of the Northeastern Consortium, said that in fiscal year 2003-04, the consortium received $3 million in Rapid Response Funds from the government that were supposed to go to help displaced base workers. The consortium, which was headed at the time by current New Progressive Party Rep. Carlos Johnny Méndez, was supposed to use the entire amount by June 30, 2004 but only managed to use $1.8 million and was forced to return the rest to the Occupational Development and Human Resources Council. The whereabouts of the rest of the money is not known.

Rodríguez Rivera spoke at a hearing investigating the use of $15 million earmarked in 2004 to help create the Fund to Promote the Economies around Roosevelt Roads Base and around $8 million in federal funds to create jobs.

In a previous hearing on Feb. 2, Economic Development and Commerce Secretary José Pérez Riera said that of the $15 million contained in the fund, only $10 million went to the Export and Commerce Company, which only used $3 million for salary and incentives.

Roosevelt Roads closed in 2004, leaving thousands jobless in the eastern region of Puerto Rico.

Pérez Riera, who is also executive director of the EDC, said that a joint resolution earmarked $4.5 million to cover deficits in the towns of Naguabo and Ceiba for the loss of business and construction excise taxes; $10 million went to implement a grant subsidy of $1,000 to allow displaced workers to start their own businesses and to provide certain business with salary subsidies; and $500,000 were supposed to be given to the EDC for a study to determine the viability of building a bridge from Vieques to Ceiba.

“However, the EDC never received the $10.5 million. We got $10 million but not the $500,000 earmarked by the joint resolution,” he said at the time.

Chico said he does not know what happened to the $8 million that were supposed to go to create jobs.