UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO 

In re: 

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO, 

as representative of 

THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, et 

al., 

Debtors.1

PROMESA 

Title III 

No. 17 BK 3283-LTS 

(Jointly Administered) 

This filing relates to the 

Commonwealth and ERS. 

REPLY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO TO RESPONSES FILED BY 

CLAIMANTS CARMEN D. CARRASQUILLO [ECF NO. 19754] AND JOEL NEGRÓN 

GUZMÁN [ECF NO. 19725] TO THE THREE HUNDRED NINETY-NINTH OMNIBUS 

OBJECTION (SUBSTANTIVE) OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO AND 

THE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM TO NO LIABILITY CLAIMS FILED BY 

AEELA MEMBERS 

To the Honorable United States District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain: 

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”) and the Employees Retirement 

System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“ERS,” and together with the 

Commonwealth, the “Debtors”), by and through the Financial Oversight and Management Board 

1

 The Debtors in these Title III Cases, along with each Debtor’s respective Title III case number 

and the last four (4) digits of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, as applicable, are 

the (i) Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17 BK 3283-

LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3481); (ii) Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation 

(“COFINA”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17 BK 3284-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 8474); 

(iii) Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (“HTA”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17 BK 

3567-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3808); (iv) Employees Retirement System of the 

Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“ERS”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17 BK 3566-

LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 9686); (v) Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority 

(“PREPA”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17 BK 4780-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3747); 

and (vi) Puerto Rico Public Buildings Authority (“PBA”, and together with the Commonwealth, 

COFINA, HTA, ERS, and PREPA, the “Debtors”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 19-BK-5523-LTS) (Last 

Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3801) (Title III case numbers are listed as Bankruptcy Case 

numbers due to software limitations). 

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for Puerto Rico (the “Oversight Board”), as the sole Title III representative of the Debtors pursuant 

to Section 315(b) of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act

(“PROMESA”),2 file this reply (the “Reply”) in support of the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth 

Omnibus Objection (Substantive) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Employees 

Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to No Liability Claims 

Filed by AEELA Members [ECF No. 19548] (the “Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus 

Objection”). In support of this Reply, the Debtors respectfully represent as follows: 

1. On December 17, 2021, the Debtors filed the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth 

Omnibus Objection seeking to disallow claims asserting liabilities associated with financial 

products issued by members of the Asociación de Empleados del ELA (“AEELA”), which is not 

a Title III Debtor, and whose liabilities are not guaranteed by the Commonwealth, each as set forth 

on Exhibit A thereto (collectively, the “Claims to Be Disallowed”). 

2. Any party who disputed the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus Objection was 

required to file a response by 4:00 p.m. (Atlantic Standard Time) on January 17, 2022, in 

accordance with the Court-approved notice attached to the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus 

Objection as Exhibit C thereto, which was served in English and Spanish on the individual 

creditors subject to the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus Objection, the U.S. Trustee, and 

the Master Service List (as defined in the Fifteenth Amended Notice, Case Management and 

Administrative Procedures [ECF No. 17127-1]). See Certificate of Service [ECF No. 19706]. 

3. The following responses to the Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus Objection 

were filed: 

 An untitled response [ECF No. 19754] (the “Carrasquillo Response”) filed by 

claimant Carmen D. Carrasquillo (“Carrasquillo”), and 

2

 PROMESA is codified at 48 U.S.C. §§ 2101–2241. 

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 An untitled response [ECF No. 19725] (the “Negrón Guzmán Response,” and 

together with the Carrasquillo Response, the “Responses”) filed by claimant Joel 

Negrón Guzmán (“Negrón Guzmán,” and together with Carrasquillo, the 

“Claimants”). 

I. The Carrasquillo Response 

4. On September 9, 2020, Carrasquillo filed a proof of claim against the 

Commonwealth, which was logged by Kroll as Proof of Claim No. 175239 (the “Carrasquillo 

Claim”), asserting $56,400 against the Department of Education, an agency of the Commonwealth, 

for allegedly accrued, but unpaid, wages per “[Law] 89-1979.” Carrasquillo Claim at 2-3. The 

Carrasquillo Claim also includes a “Request for Liquidation of Savings and Dividends” issued by 

AEELA. Carrasquillo Claim at 5. 

5. On July 13, 2021, the Debtors filed the Sixteenth Notice of Transfer of Claims to 

Administrative Claims Reconciliation [ECF No. 17320], which transferred the portion of the 

Carrasquillo Claim asserting allegedly accrued but unpaid wages to ACR. The remainder of the 

claim asserting liabilities on the basis of the AEELA financial products was logged by Kroll as 

Proof of Claim No. 175239-1 (the “Remaining Carrasquillo Claim”) and objected to on the Three 

Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus Objection. 

6. The Carrasquillo Response, a Spanish-language letter, dated January 10, 2022, was 

filed on January 12, 2022, and docketed as ECF No. 19754 on January 13, 2022. Therein, 

Carrasquillo does not address the Commonwealth’s contention that the Remaining Carrasquillo 

Claim should be disallowed because it asserts liabilities based on AEELA products when AEELA 

is not a Title III Debtor. Instead, the Carrasquillo Response states that “all of [her] time included 

in the claim was with the Department of Education under the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,” and 

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that she “never worked for the Association of Employees of the Commonwealth (AEELA).” 

Carrasquillo Response at 1. 

7. AEELA is a separate entity that is legally distinct from the Commonwealth and 

each of the other Title III Debtors, and neither the Commonwealth nor any other Title III Debtor 

has guaranteed liabilities associated with AEELA’s financial products. Neither the Carrasquillo 

Response nor the Carrasquillo Claim provides a basis for asserting a claim against either the 

Commonwealth or any other Title III Debtor for amounts owed by AEELA, a separate, legally 

distinct entity. 

8. Accordingly, because the Carrasquillo Response does not dispute that the 

Commonwealth is not liable for the AEELA financial products and does not otherwise provide a 

basis for asserting liability against the Commonwealth, the Remaining Carrasquillo Claim should 

be disallowed. 

II. The Negrón Guzmán Response 

9. On June 1, 2018, Negrón Guzmán filed a proof of claim against the 

Commonwealth, which was logged by Kroll as Proof of Claim No. 71072 (the “Negrón Guzmán 

Claim”), asserting $7,800 against the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, an agency of 

the Commonwealth, for accrued, but unpaid, wages in relation to the “Romerazo” wage increase. 

Negrón Guzmán Claim at 2-3. 

10. On December 12, 2019, the Debtors filed the One Hundred Fourteenth Omnibus 

Objection (Non-Substantive) to Deficient Claims Asserting Interests Based Upon Unspecified 

Puerto Rico Statutes [ECF No. 9564] (the “One Hundred Fourteenth Omnibus Objection”). On 

February 5, 2020, Negrón Guzmán filed a Spanish-language letter dated January 31, 2020 as a 

response to the One Hundred Fourteenth Omnibus Objection, which was docketed as ECF No. 

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10721 (the “Negrón Guzmán Response to the One Hundred Fourteenth Omnibus Objection”). 

Therein, Negrón Guzmán includes, as an unmarked exhibit, an AEELA statement to “corroborate 

his claim.” Negrón Guzmán Response to the One Hundred Fourteenth Omnibus Objection at 1. 

11. On November 11, 2020, the Debtors filed the Fifth Notice of Transfer of Claims to 

Administrative Claims Reconciliation [EFC No. 15086], which transferred the portion of the 

Negrón Guzmán Claim asserting allegedly accrued but unpaid wages to ACR. The remainder of 

the claim asserting liabilities on the basis of the AEELA financial products was logged by Kroll 

as Proof of Claim No. 71072-1 (the “Remaining Negrón Guzmán Claim”) and objected to on the 

Three Hundred Ninety-Ninth Omnibus Objection. 

12. The Negrón Guzmán Response, a Spanish-language letter, dated January 4, 2022, 

was filed on January 10, 2022, and docketed as ECF No. 19725 on January 11, 2022. Therein, 

Negrón Guzmán does not address the Commonwealth’s contention that the Remaining Negrón 

Guzmán Claim should be disallowed because it asserts liabilities based on the AEELA financial 

products when AEELA is not a Title III Debtor. Instead, Negrón Guzmán states that his claim is 

in relation to the “Romerazo” wage increase and per diem payments, which were allegedly 

accrued, but unpaid. Negrón Guzmán Response at 1. As stated above, the portion of the Negrón 

Guzmán Claim asserting accrued but unpaid wages was previously transferred into ACR. The sole 

document submitted by Negrón Guzmán regarding AEELA’s financial products—an AEELAissued summary of Negrón Guzmán’s AEELA accounts [ECF No. 10721]—fails to support a basis 

for asserting liability against the Commonwealth. 

13. As explained above, AEELA is a separate entity that is legally distinct from the 

Title III Debtors, and none of the Title III Debtors have guaranteed its liabilities. Because the 

Negrón Guzmán Response does not dispute that the Commonwealth is not liable for the AEELA 

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financial products and does not otherwise provide a basis for asserting liability against the 

Commonwealth, the Remaining Negrón Guzmán Claim should be disallowed. 

14. Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, the Commonwealth respectfully requests 

the Claims be disallowed, notwithstanding the Responses. 

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Dated: April 11, 2023 Respectfully submitted, 

 San Juan, Puerto Rico 

/s/ Hermann D. Bauer

Hermann D. Bauer 

USDC No. 215205 

Carla García-Benítez 

USDC No. 203708 

Gabriel A. Miranda 

USDC No. 306704 

O’NEILL & BORGES LLC 

250 Muñoz Rivera Ave., Suite 800 

San Juan, PR 00918-1813 

Tel: (787) 764-8181 

Fax: (787) 753-8944 

/s/ Brian S. Rosen 

Martin J. Bienenstock (pro hac vice) 

Brian S. Rosen (pro hac vice) 

PROSKAUER ROSE LLP

Eleven Times Square 

New York, NY 10036 

Tel: (212) 969-3000 

Fax: (212) 969-2900 

Attorneys for the Financial 

Oversight and Management Board 

for Puerto Rico, as representative of 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

and the Employees Retirement 

System of the Government of the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 

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