What gifts can a deputy receive? The current provincial body, composed of 31 members, keeps a record on the Diputación’s corporate web page listing gifts disclosed to public authorities. A substantial portion of this section has not been updated: several members, including those from the PSOE and five from the PP (second vice president Ana Serna, Sebastián Cañadas, José Ramón González de Zárate, Juan de Dios Navarro, and Miguel Ángel Sánchez), did not post their items. The Socialist spokesperson Toni Frances states that her faction will not post gifts because they do not accept them. While curiosity abounds about who receives gifts, the majority of items tend to be edible, culinary, or cultural in nature.
Not surprisingly, the president who has received the most gifts is Carlos Mazón. In 2021, his Diputación file shows up to 64 gifts posted. The majority of these gifts appear in December, aligning with Christmas celebrations. Within this period, entries show items described as provincial or regional food baskets, credited to towns such as Valencia, Castellón, Orihuela, Xixona, and Almería. December also sees Mazón listed as purchasing calendars, lotteries, and various copies of books for the year 2022.
Following Mazón, Bernabé Cano appears as the deputy with the second-highest tally, reflected by nine gifts. His gifts range from novels and calendars to candies, confections, and bottles of wine. In the line that follows, Teresa Belmonte, María Gómez, and Francisco Javier Sendra each present eight gifts; Eduardo Dolón, the spokesperson for the governing coalition, shows six gifts. Julia Parra, the first vice president for Ciudadanos, is listed with six, while Mari Carmen Jover, Juan Bautista Roselló, and Compromís spokesperson Gerard Fullana each have three gifts. Alejandro Morant has two, and Javier Gutiérrez of the Cs group closes the list with a single entry.
Absence
A notable point is the absence of any published gifts in the records of the fourteen PSOE deputies still serving in the Diputación. Frances explains that this is not a transparency breach. “We do not receive gifts in any form, and as mayor I do not accept them. I turn donated items over to City Hall,” he notes. “We understand that gifts are directed to institutions rather than individuals. As a spokesperson and as colleagues on the City Council, we apply the same guideline.”
There is an emphasis on complying with transparency rules established by the coalition’s framework. Vice President Parra is charged with overseeing this area in the organizational chart and encourages other MPs to lead by example. “Before each authorization, we receive information about what needs to be shared on the portal. Some data—such as declarations of assets, activities, and gross salaries—are published automatically. Other details, like gifts or trips outside the Community of Valencia, must be provided by the parties involved,” Parra explains about the transparency portal’s operation. [Source: institutional portal guidelines]
The PP voices a call for stronger public-facing transparency within the Provincial Assembly. Spokesperson Eduardo Dolón states, “We are making tangible efforts toward openness. Once the mechanisms are in place, the groups must comply to make them effective. If we are to talk about transparency, we must bring it to life.”
Finally, Gerard Fullana, spokesperson for Compromís, notes that only three gifts appeared in his file over four years. He observes that government team members often received gifts, with items including edible goods and books, and occasionally curios such as phone chargers or sportswear.