After months of sidestepping the issue, Orihuela’s Councillor for the Family, Mari Carmen Portugal, has finally acknowledged that she is earning a second income by teaching at two universities.
In two letters addressed to the Council, she states that she is receiving more than 4,500 euros for providing postgraduate training at the University Internacional de La Rioja (Unir) and at the Miguel Hernández University.
The course at the University Internacional de La Rioja (Unir) in Protocol and Events, International Diplomatic and Awards earns her an annual net total of 1,906 euros while for her professorship at the Miguel Hernández University, she receives a further 2,805 euros, a total of 4,700 euros which can be added to the 50,500 that Portugal already receives as a full-time Orihuela councillor.
Whilst we are not aware of her teaching timetable at La Rioja, her teaching Schedule at the Miguel Hernández University in which she lectures on a master’s degree course in Event Organization, Protocol and Institutional Relations, is for 16 classes on Mondays, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., between February to June.
Her decision to seek a full time council salary, despite her part time teaching responsibilities, is in direct contrast to that of her Vox party colleague, the councillor of Culture, Gonzalo Montoya, who, decided to reduce his public salary and opt for a part-time dedication, so as to be able to combine his municipal activity, also with teaching.
