El Vocero: the Senate approves Molina's RS-459 on water and the PIP's RS-9 on the file

On March 30, 2026, El Vocero reports that the Senate approved two resolutions to investigate the permits of the Esencia megaproject, in Cabo Rojo, and its impact. Andrea Cruz bylines the note March 30, 2026. The headline is "Senado aprueba resoluciones de investigación sobre proyecto Esencia".

According to El Vocero, the approval of RS-9 and RS-459 comes two days after dozens of citizens marched to the Capitol on Saturday. RS-9, filed in January 2025 by María de Lourdes Santiago and Adrián González Costa, of the PIP, orders an investigation of "the information provided to government entities as part of the permit application" and its viability against resources, infrastructure, and the community fabric. The Statement of Motives, the paper reproduces, speaks of simulated exercises if the State does not respond.

RS-459, authored by independent senator Eliezer Molina, orders the Planning, Permits, Infrastructure and Urbanism Committee to conduct a technical investigation of the current and projected capacity of the drinking-water supply. El Vocero cites the statement filed March 12: coastal aquifers, the balance between fresh and salt water, the risk of saline intrusion. In 2024, it adds, Mayor Jorge Morales Wiscovitch endorsed the project conditioned on its own infrastructure because the AAA concluded that the Betances filter plant cannot meet the demand.

The paper places Esencia in Los Pozos, 2,000 acres, 2,000 million dollars, Reuben Brothers and Three Rules Capital, a 530-room hotel and more than 1,000 residences. Those figures are El Vocero's. This note does not rewrite the OGPe endorsement of July. What remains is March 30: two resolutions and a Saturday march. This is not original reporting.

Metro Puerto Rico covered the same measures on March 30 at another URL. This page stays with El Vocero. There is no docket here against the Governor. A reader who wants the RS-459 statement has the URL at the foot.

Source: El Vocero (Andrea Cruz), 30 Mar 2026. https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/legislatura/senado-aprueba-resoluciones-de-investigaci-n-sobre-proyecto-esencia/article_4d54d897-522e-457b-a30f-34caa490c601.html