Puerto Rico News Digest For May 2, 2016

PR DEFAULTS ON GDB PAYMENT 

From Caribbean Business:

"In a televised message Sunday, Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced
he has declared a moratorium on the Government Development Bank’s (GDB)
debt service, as the commonwealth stands ready to partially default on as much
as $270 million due May 2 on the bank’s debt. The cash-strapped institution
would have faced a $400 million payment on principal, with an additional $22
million in interest. But during the past few days, the GDB pushed maturity on
roughly $30 million after reaching a deal with local credit unions, followed by
an agreement struck with a creditor group to enter into a 30-day forbearance
agreement that would cover more than $100 million of the bank’s May payment.
The GDB already stated it will pay about $22 million in interest due May 2, as
well as roughly more than $40 million in debt payments across other common-
wealth credits that also hit on Monday..."

FIRST ZIKA DEATH REPORTED IN PR

From The Guardian:

The first American has died from complications related to the Zika virus,
health officials with the Centers for Disease Control reported late Friday.
A Puerto Rican man in his 70s died in February from “complications re-
lated to severe thrombocytopenia”, the CDC reported in its Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report. The man, from the San Juan area, fell ill with the
Zika virus and experienced symptoms including fever, rash and joint pain.
After recovering from the Zika symptoms, the man then developed immu-
ne thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP, an autoimmune disorder that has been
linked to the virus. The bleeding disorder that killed him was as a side-effect
of the ITP..."

BERNIER CALLS FOR IVA REPEAL

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President and gubernatorial candidate Da-
vid Bernier on Thursday called on the PDP majority in the Legislature to pass
legislation to repeal the value-added tax (IVA by its Spanish acronym) slated
to go into effect in June. “To permit an increase in the value-added tax would
hurt the pocketbooks of our people and the operations of our businesses,” Ber-
nier said. “The responsible thing at this time is that the Legislature act to pre-
vent the IVA and the increase in the B2B [business-to-business tax] from being
enacted in final form.”