The first formation meetings to begin establishing creditor committees will be held on Friday, as convened by US Bankruptcy Trustee Monsita Lecaroz.

So far, the three committees to be established correspond to the retirees, the unsecured creditors of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and those of the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation (COFINA, by its Spanish acronym).

The US Bankruptcy Trustee called for these first formation meetings to establish the committees that will be involved in the bankruptcy cases under Title III of PROMESA. These meetings will be held on Friday at the United States Bankruptcy Court.

'After the conclusion of the meeting, the United States Trustee will evaluate the information that has been presented to him and appoint the Retiree Committee... and the committees (for the unsecured creditors of the Commonwealth and COFINA). The United States Trustee will file a notice of that appointment with the Court,' the announcement reads.

Nonetheless, the US trustee will not make any announcements about the committee memberships during the meetings scheduled for Friday.

On May 17, during the first bankruptcy case hearing, Judge Laura Taylor Swain had ordered the US Bankruptcy Trustee to issue a report about the establishment of committees grouping creditors with similar characteristics.

According to information provided that day to NotiCel by former bankruptcy Judge Gerardo Carlo-Altieri, the formation of committees is usual in cases involving a considerable amount of interested parts, so as to streamline the procedures.

Committees are formed to merge petitions and negotiation processes, to be able to establish the debt restructuring terms. In Puerto Rico's bankruptcy case, there are currently more than 50 attorneys, a number that is expected to increase as the legal procedures continue.

'The advantage of having a committee is that it organizes thousands of creditors. Seeing a case like this would be impossible if they were not organized in groups,' Carlo-Altieri had told NotiCel.

The first group to request being constituted as its own committee before court, in representation of the retirees, was the Movimiento Pro Pensionado de Puerto Rico ('Pro-Pensioner Movement of Puerto Rico'), with attorney Antonio Bennazar Zequeria, of the Bennazar, García <><><><><><><><><>& Milián, C.S.P. law firm, as spokesperson./p

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Mr. Bennazar noted that this sector's participation in the judicial process is essential to minimize the amount of affected people as much as possible, within the government's austere circumstances and financial obligations./p

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'We understand that our participation is of utmost importance, because we have heard public statements from various sectors saying that everyone will suffer cutbacks, including the pensioners. So they want to show up to participate and defend their rights,' he explained to NotiCel./p

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Bennazar Zequeira pointed out that this group was formed earlier this year, representing 92,000 out of the 150,000 pensioners in Puerto Rico. He said that other organizations are in the process of becoming affiliates to obtain representation in the lawsuit./p

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Droguería César Castillo also asked to be part of the process to establish an official committee for creditors providing services to the government. Trade unions have also asked to participate./p