The judge in the DANA case requests the Mazón lunch receipt and photos of the private room from El Ventorro.

ValenciaA new development has occurred in the investigation by the judge in Catarroja into the handling of the DANA storm in the Valencian Community. With the aim of clarifying the chronology of the afternoon of October 29th, the investigating judge has requested that the owner of El Ventorro, the Valencia restaurant where Carlos Mazón and journalist Maribel Vilaplana ate, provide information about the meeting and the private room where the lunch took place. Specifically, she is requesting the bill for the meal and details of the room's dimensions, along with photographs, where the acting head of the Valencian government and the journalist were eating as the torrential rains began claiming their first victims. But why does the judge want photos of this private room? In a ruling sent to the parties this Monday, the investigating judge points out that these photos are crucial to determining what those who were with Mazón at the restaurant (from his bodyguards to the owner, including Vilaplana) could and could not have heard. The judge also wants to clarify a contradiction, given that during her testimony... the journalist stated that he couldn't hear Mazón's telephone conversations because Mazón would get up and "step aside" to talk more discreetly, taking advantage of the fact that the private room was spacious, while The restorer said Friday She stated that she did not hear Mazón on the phone at any point, that she did not see him get up from the table, and that the space was small. Ruiz Tobarra has also requested the bill and a list of the meal's contents in order to determine "the extent of the meal." The judge has also requested that the WhatsApp messages exchanged on the day of the storm between Juanfran Pérez Llorca, the candidate to replace Mazón as head of the Generalitat, and former councilor Salomé Pradas, who was his deputy in the Department of Justice and the Interior, be reviewed. Furthermore, she has requested the bill for the corporate phone of the Finestrat City Council, where Pérez Llorca is mayor. From this phone, the Secretary General of the Valencian Community PP also called Mazón at 6:57 p.m. and contacted Pradas at 6:57 p.m. (he didn't answer), 6:58 p.m. (14 seconds of conversation), and 6:59 p.m. (9 seconds). The judge is working with the PP politician, who offered to provide the information on Friday, to obtain these details.

The conservative leader has also been in the news this Monday because Vox has announced that it will not reveal whether it will vote in favor of his investiture until it hears him speak in the Valencian Parliament this Thursday. This was stated by the national spokesperson for the far-right party, José Antonio Fúster, who indicated that his party "will be paying close attention" to the words of the Popular Party candidate. Fúster emphasized his party's interest in learning about Pérez Llorca's proposals for infrastructure projects to prevent a tragedy similar to that of October 29th of last year from "happening again." In this regard, he explained that they do not want to sign a new agreement with their partners because Núñez Feijóo's party has "deceived them on many occasions." "We have learned the hard way that [agreements] are meaningless [...], that's why we are waiting for his inaugural address," concluded the far-right politician, who stressed that if Pérez Llorca adopts "bipartisan positions" they will vote against him.

"The delay was the fault of the technicians"

On Monday, the severe weather event was also a major topic in Congress, where the Valencian Vice President and Minister of Social Services and Housing, Susana Camarero, and the President of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, appeared before the Congress. Camarero distanced herself from the situation, justifying her absence from the Cecopio meeting by stating that she "was not invited." She emphasized that her decision to attend a business association event that same afternoon was motivated by "responsibility." She also defended the operation of the telecare service, despite the deaths of more than 37 users. "They fulfilled their obligation. The professionals made as many phone calls as they could to assist the users, mobilizing all available resources. In some cases, they succeeded, and in others, they did not," she summarized.

In turn, Mompó claimed to be unaware of the reasons for the delay in sending the alert, although he pointed to the possible culprits as the Deputy Director General of Emergencies, Jorge Suárez, and the head of the Valencia Provincial Fire Consortium, José Miguel Basset, now retired. "The feeling was that the Cecopio (Emergency Coordination Center) wasn't run by politicians, but by technicians," he emphasized. This is the same version presented by the only two defendants so far in the case, Salomé Pradas and Emilio Argüeso. During his appearance, Mompó also stated that, "incredible as it may seem," the message sent at 8:11 p.m. was disseminated due to the situation at the Forata reservoir—which regulates the Magro River and was feared to be at risk of overflowing—and not because of the Poio ravine overflowing.