Manuel Palomino, the director general of Health of the Balearic Government during the pandemic, appeared on Monday before the congressional committee investigating the contracts for sanitary material to explain the purchase of 1.4 million masks that was questioned in that community. Palomino explained the technical process of the procurement and stated that it originated from a call from the switchboard of the Ministry of Development. He emphasized that he only spoke once with the former advisor of that ministry, Koldo García, that the awarded company – Soluciones de Gestión, allegedly involved in the Koldo case – was just one of 73 companies contacted, that the masks were not suitable for sanitary use but for other services, and that the subsequent claim to the company was made in a timely manner. He emphasized that he did not receive any orders or pressure from the then Balearic president, the socialist Francina Armengol, or any member of her government or the central government. Members of the PP and Vox parties expressed disbelief in Palomino’s explanations.
Manuel Palomino held the position of director general of the Balearic Health Service after previously serving as a civil guard. He was in this position throughout the pandemic and considered himself a manager rather than a political figure. He emphasized that, given the severity of the health crisis, he formed a team of procurement officials to search for materials wherever they could be found. The “Koldo case” in Baleares began when Palomino, attending a procurement committee meeting in April 2020, received a call from the Ministry of Development asking if the Balearic Government was interested in participating in a significant purchase of masks promoted by that department. Palomino accepted the offer due to the emergency situation, and subsequently spoke with Koldo García, who provided him with the contact information for Íñigo Rotaeche, the representative of the company Soluciones de Gestión y Apoyo a las Empresas SL, at the center of the alleged corrupt network.
Soluciones de Gestión was portrayed by Palomino as one of 73 companies from different suppliers negotiated with during those days. He clarified that he did not have further contact with Koldo García or Rotaeche because he did not believe it was the role of the administration to negotiate prices but rather to document everything. Palomino mentioned insults directed at him by company officials in the case file, as they criticized him for not wanting to negotiate when the Balearic Government began the process of claiming the contracted masks. The purchased masks were intended for healthcare workers and were ultimately redirected for use by other essential non-healthcare groups. A later claim was made to the company, which was delayed for several years to avoid blocking the masks in case they were needed in subsequent waves of the pandemic.
The PP and Vox parties did not find Palomino’s explanations satisfactory and focused on the delay in the claim process to suggest that Baleares did not act in the best interests of the public but rather to benefit Soluciones de Gestión and the alleged Koldo García network. The claim was made when the socialist Balearic government of Armengol was about to leave office, and the PP government that followed took several months to pursue the claim, leading to a current legal dispute to determine if the claim was made within the specified time frame.
