Former DANA commissioner hospitalized after suicide attempt

BarcelonaThe former Spanish government commissioner for reconstruction in the Valencian Country after the DANA, José María Ángel Batalla, is admitted to Llíria Hospital after a suicide attempt this Friday in Eliana, the town where he lives, according to local media reports. The Provinces and LevantAccording to both newspapers, firefighters had to intervene, and it was the health services that took him to the hospital.

In recent days, José María Ángel Batalla had been in the media and political spotlight for the alleged falsification of a degree on his civil service record at the Valencia Provincial Council. Ángel Batalla claimed to have suffered an "unjustified attack" that caused him "enormous" personal harm and denied cheating. After days of political and media pressure, the commissioner submitted his resignation last Thursday.

The president of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón, took to Twitter to wish Ángel Batalla a speedy recovery and thank the fire and health services for their swift response. Spanish President Pedro Sánchez also sent his "support and appreciation" to him and the entire family.

The case that ended the political career of the former regional secretary of emergencies for the Valencian regional government during Ximo Puig's administration began following an anonymous complaint filed with the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, which allegedly found that a university degree the socialist had provided was fake. According to the investigation, the politician had no higher education, only a high school diploma.

Political career

With thirty-six years as a civil servant in the Valencian public administration, José María Ángel Batalla has worked his way through all the levels of regional power: first as mayor of Eliana, where he served for eighteen years; then as chief of staff at the Ministry of the Interior from 1993 to 1995; and then as a councilor at the Eliana City Council until 2011, when he rose to the fourth position in the Senate for a term, where he remained until 2015. Finally, he served for eight years as the regional Secretary of Emergencies during the presidency of Ximo Puig, before moving to the Valencia Provincial Council.

In December of last year, while awaiting the extension of his retirement, he received a call from the Spanish government to be the Government Commissioner for the DANA (National Emergency Management Agency), due to his good management during the downpours of 2019. Under his mandate, the Cecopio (National Emergency Management Agency) was convened two days in advance and the SE-Alert system was used.

This recognition in the field of emergencies led him to retain his position as regional Secretary of Emergencies even after the entry of the PP and Vox into the Valencian government, where he remained for two more months. Now, after having spent more than thirty years in politics and having faced all kinds of catastrophes, he has been accused of falsifying his training, specifically a degree in Archival and Library Science, which has cost him his position as head and reference in Emergency Management.