Witness testimony in housing inquiry

Former Alicante councillor Toni Gallego testified on 30 September 2026 before Judge Amparo Rubio at the Court of Instruction Number 5. Gallego appeared as a witness in the ongoing inquiry into subsidized housing allocations at Residencial Les Naus. He ratified his previous testimony given on 2 July 2026 to the Les Corts Valencianes parliamentary commission. Gallego stated that former Urban Planning councillor Rocío Gómez asked him minutes before the 25 July 2024 council plenary to answer a question regarding the housing project. He explained that Gómez handed him a written response and asked him to substitute for her because she held an apartment in the complex. The hearing took place after the popular prosecution led by Ciudadanos requested Gallego's appearance, a petition backed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

City government denies last-minute change

Alicante Vice Mayor Manuel Villar issued a formal rebuttal on behalf of Mayor Luis Barcala's government team later that day. Villar asserted that municipal records prove Gallego was assigned to answer the Compromís question days before the plenary meeting took place. According to the executive team, council members had already distributed all agenda items in advance of the session.

“What the former councillor remembers does not coincide with the reality of the facts.”

Villar stated that the entire governing team knew Gallego would handle the matter, rejecting claims of an impromptu handoff in the council chamber. Gallego, who had recently assumed Heritage duties previously held by Gómez, maintained that the mayor's office had not notified the chief of staff about the switch.

Scope of the Les Naus investigation

The case centers on the Residencial Les Naus development in Alicante's Playa de San Juan, where 140 public protection housing units were built on municipal land sold at an appraised price. The court is investigating why portions of these subsidized homes were allocated to city council officials, their relatives, and acquaintances. Rocío Gómez is one of 15 individuals currently under formal investigation in the proceedings. Gómez resigned her municipal office on 29 January 2026 after details of the housing awards became public. During her testimony on 20 May 2026, Gómez stated that her ownership of the home with her husband had no connection to her municipal duties.

Opposition demands mayoral accountability

Opposition groups in the Alicante City Council responded to the court hearing by disputing Mayor Luis Barcala's claims that he was unaware of the housing allocations in 2024. PSPV spokesperson Trini Amorós stated that the mayoral office removed Heritage competencies from Gómez to conceal her property ownership.

“Nobody believes that Rocío Gómez and Toni Gallego exchanged the answer in the plenary without Barcala knowing about it.”

Compromís spokesperson Rafa Mas renewed calls for Barcala to resign from the mayoral office. EU-Podem representative Manolo Copé stated that successive judicial declarations dismantle the narrative provided by the mayor. Gallego previously stated before the regional parliamentary commission that one could intuit the mayor's office already knew about the property holding in 2024.