Presidency Asserts It Did Not Cover Mazón's Meal on the Day of the Storm as He Attended as PPCV Leader

Presidency of the Generalitat assures that the meal attended by the 'president' of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, with journalist Maribel Vilaplana on October 29, the day of the storm, was not charged to the Generalitat's budget, as the head of the Consell attended in his capacity as president of the Popular Party of the Valencian Community (PPCV), and these are entirely funded by his political party.

This is stated in a response from the Secretary of Institutional Relations and Transparency of the Generalitat, Santiago Lumbreras, consulted by Europa Press, following the request for documentation made by socialist deputies Mercedes Caballero and José Muñoz in Les Corts, who demanded access to the bill for the mentioned meal of the head of the Consell on October 29, the day of the flood that devastated part of the province of Valencia and caused more than 220 fatalities.

In this regard, Lumbreras responds to the PSPV-PSOE deputies that the bill "has not been submitted nor, consequently, has it been charged to the Generalitat's budget" because "the meals or dinners" that Mazón "holds in his capacity as president of the Popular Party of the Valencian Community" are "entirely funded by his political party," as "is the case" referred to in the request.

According to sources from the Presidency on November 8, Carlos Mazón dined with journalist Maribel Vilaplana at a restaurant in Valencia on Tuesday, October 29. During this meeting, according to the same sources, Mazón offered Vilaplana the direction of the Valencian public broadcaster À Punt.

The socialists demanded weeks later to have access to the bill for this "alleged meal," as they claimed there are "five different versions" to explain "why he was not" Mazón that afternoon at the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi).

Asked about this issue, the Deputy Secretary of Health and Education of the national PP, Ester Muñoz, said she does not know if the PPCV paid for the meal Mazón had, although she believes that what they "should focus on right now" is the reconstruction of Valencia.

In a press conference from the party's national headquarters, Ester Muñoz believes that Mazón's government has given "its explanations" regarding the meal on October 29, defending that the Generalitat did not pay for that meeting.

"I don't know if the party paid for it," clarified the 'popular' leader, who added that regional presidents are also leaders of their territorial federations and, in that sense, "they have their own meals."

In any case, Ester Muñoz said that "a lot has been said about that meal," so she now advocates focusing on the reconstruction of Valencia: "That's what all Valencians are waiting for."