Ponce officials urge governor to include Mercedita airport transfer bill in extraordinary session

Ponce representatives and municipal officials on a press statement urged the governor of Puerto Rico to include Proyecto de la Ce1mara 16-17'a bill to transfer Mercedita International Airport to municipal control'in any extraordinary legislative session and to reconsider a veto they said would stall the southern region's economic progress.

"Estamos aquí para emplazar al gobernador de Puerto Rico a que la convocatoria de la extraordinaria ... haga parte un proyecto de consenso para la transferencia del aeropuerto internacional Mercedita de Ponce," said Representative Domingo Torres, who led the statement on behalf of Ponce-area legislators. The lawmakers said they are available to meet with the governor's team to reach consensus language for the measure.

The proponents argued the transfer is a tool to accelerate tourism and industrial growth across the southern region. Jean Paul Gonze1lez, director of economic development for the municipality of Ponce, said the municipality has pursued federal engagement and is seeking a federal economic development grant; he noted that the municipality's application for DDA funds is due in December and framed that deadline as a reason not to delay the transfer. "Tenemos ya una solicitud de fondo que vencen ahora en diciembre," González said.

González also said federal airport officials told municipal representatives that the transfer process is a common procedure elsewhere in the United States and that transfers only proceed after required federal compliance steps are completed. "La transferencia no se da hasta que todo el procedimiento de cumplimiento se establece y la transferencia [se realiza] tan pronto el municipio y la autoridad de Puerto de Ponce es elegible," he said.

Speakers provided fiscal context for the municipal case. González said Mercedita currently runs an operating deficit while the municipality manages a larger overall budget and has portrayed local capacity to invest in expansion plans laid out by the bill. The municipal presentation singled out governance fragmentation at the Port of Ponce as a precedent to be avoided by centralizing airport authority.

Not all local figures support the transfer: the press statement identified Representative Joel Piza (named in the transcript) as an outspoken opponent whose objections, supporters said, evolved during debate. An unnamed representative at the event said objections raised in public forums can be "refutadas y rebatidas," while also urging the governor to honor a 2021 public commitment reportedly made in favor of the measure.

No formal vote or motion took place during the press statement. The legislators said they will make themselves available for meetings with the governor or his designees and urged the executive to place Proyecto de la Ce1mara 16-17 on the agenda of any extraordinary session; they described the objective as enabling a five-year statutory framework for a phased airport expansion while avoiding delays from an advisory committee process they criticized as a 180-day deferral.

The request to the governor and the municipal officials' appeals mark the next public step; the measure's inclusion in an extraordinary session and any formal legislative action remain pending.