Orihuela continues to be embroiled in a political and judicial controversy that once again calls into question the continuity of the mayor, Pepe Vegara (PP). However, the general secretary of the PPCV and deputy spokesperson of the parliamentary group in the Valencian Cortes, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, has repeated the party’s support for Vegara. They maintain the defence of the presumption of innocence while the PSOE requests his immediate resignation.
Pérez Llorca has highlighted the position of the Valencian PP in relation to Vegara’s judicial situation, pointing out that he is innocent until proven otherwise. Pérez Llorca reports that Vegara has rejected an offer from the Prosecutor’s Office to reduce the sentence in exchange for a guilty plea, which, from the PP perspective, reinforces his position in the presumption of innocence.
The general secretary of the Valencian PP argues that the events for which Vegara is accused date back to 2005 and are related to his private business activity, that is, unrelated to his political activity as mayor of Orihuela. He highlights Vegara’s decision to face a trial and not accept a plea bargain as a show of confidence in his innocence, thus supporting the party’s position in defence of the mayor’s presumption of innocence.
Meanwhile, the secretary of municipal and institutional group of the PSOE in Vega Baja, Manuel Ros, has requested Vegara’s immediate resignation. Ros argues that the mayor is accused of alleged crimes against public finances and document falsification, and that an oral trial has already been opened against him.
According to Ros, Vegara cannot continue to hold the mayor’s office of the largest municipality in Vega Baja while facing such serious accusations. He criticises the PP’s decision to allow Vegara to be a candidate in the last municipal elections despite being prosecuted, and points out that it is inadmissible for him to represent the city in his current situation.
The case against Vegara is related to his management of his company, ITV Vega Baja. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of an alleged crime of falsifying a commercial document and two crimes against the Public Treasury for VAT and Corporate Tax fraud. It is estimated that the Treasury lost more than 900,000 euros due to the alleged fraudulent practices of the company linked to the Oriolano mayor.
