Manuel Villoria, first president of the new Independent Whistleblower Protection Authority

Ramón Machuca/Editor

The appointment, approved by the Minister council and endorsed by the Congress of Deputies, marks a step forward in the implementation of Law 2/2023 on the protection of whistleblowers. AIPI It was created as a guarantor of the rights of the so-called 'whistleblowers', a figure that until now has been unprotected in the Spanish institutional system.

Manuel Villoria, professor of Political Science at the Rey Juan Carlos University and a leading figure in transparency and public integrity, faces this new challenge aware of the difficulties involved in launching a completely new body: “The Authority must be developed from scratch, because it is completely new. Right now, the most immediate priority is to secure a budget and job descriptions that will allow me to begin the work for which the Authority was created. Once I secure this core budget, the priority is to protect whistleblowers and prevent any retaliation against them,” explains Villoria.

In addition to these initial tasks, the new president has indicated that other key powers of the agency will need to be deployed, such as "exercising the sanctioning power for those who commit the violations established by law, acting as an external information channel, and forwarding information to the prosecutor's office and other public bodies, as well as to private companies, so they can carry out processing activities and, where appropriate, investigate existing complaints." He also highlighted the importance of promoting "training activities in the culture of information on illegal, fraudulent, or corrupt acts."

His new responsibility will require him to put aside his usual teaching duties, although he does not rule out maintaining some connection with the university, particularly in research or participating in occasional unpaid conferences.

Villoria combines an academic career, a doctorate in Political Science and Sociology from the Complutense University and a graduate in European Communities from the Diplomatic School, with extensive experience in activism for institutional transparency. The URJC professor, co-founder of International Transparency Spain, has served on ethics committees of the Spanish Olympic Committee, the Bilbao City Hall and Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency, among others.