Former Baiona urban planning councillor questioned

A local planning scandal in Baiona has moved from political embarrassment into a prosecutorial test. José Ángel Bahamonde, until recently the town’s urban planning councillor, has now answered questions from the Prosecutor’s Office about a tourism-apartment project linked to a company he co-owned. His defense is simple — he says he never authorized the license, never touched the file, and never profited improperly from the permit process. But that answer lands in a town already arguing over conflicts of interest, missing paperwork, and whether the mayor acted too late. ### Who is at the center of this? The central figure is José Ángel Bahamonde, a PP councillor in Baiona who had been in charge of Urbanismo, Patrimonio y Vivenda — basically the town hall areas that control planning and housing. Prosecutors started looking at whether that role was compatible with his private stake in a construction company involved in a local apartment project. After the scrutiny became public, Baiona mayor Jesús Vázquez Almuiña removed Bahamonde from those planning powers, although he initially kept him in government with other responsibilities. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What project triggered the case? It centers on modular tourist apartments in Sabarís, in the Baiona municipality. The building was promoted by Servicios Turísticos Val Miñor, while the structures were manufactured by Encaixa Modular — a firm where Bahamonde appeared as partner and administrator until April 17. That overlap is the whole problem. If the councillor overseeing planning is also tied to the company building a tourism project in the same town, the obvious question is whether public power and private business got too close. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What did Bahamonde tell prosecutors? He told prosecutors on May 7, 2026, with a lawyer present, that he did not intervene in the granting of the license for that project. He argued that the application went through a certifying company registered with the Xunta, using a procedure that lets an outside firm verify whether a project complies with planning rules. His key point was narrow but important: under that route, he says, neither he nor municipal technicians examined the file to grant the permit. That is his firewall. If true, it weakens the idea that he personally steered the license. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Why does that certification detail matter? Because this is where the legal and political arguments split. Legally, Bahamonde is saying the permit process was structured so he had no decision-making role. Politically, that may not be enough. A councillor does not need to stamp a file personally for people to see a conflict if he is both regulating the sector and doing business inside it. Think of it less like signing your own check and more like sitting on the side of the table that writes the rules while your company plays the game. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What are prosecutors actually looking at? The Prosecutor’s Office called him as a suspect over possible offenses including prohibited negotiations by authorities or public officials, and possibly embezzlement. At this stage, that does not mean guilt. It means prosecutors think there is enough smoke to ask whether his public position and private construction role crossed a legal line. The inquiry began as a compatibility question, but it now has a more openly criminal shape. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### What changed at town hall? On April 23, mayor Almuiña removed Bahamonde from Urbanismo, Patrimonio y Vivenda and took those powers himself. The change came after the investigation became public and after questions inside the municipal secretariat. Bahamonde also stopped drawing his fixed salary for that role, though he stayed in the corporation with Environment and Infrastructure duties. A day later, the change in his company status was published in the commercial registry. That timing matters because critics see it as reactive, not preventive. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Why is the opposition still pushing? Because the fight is no longer just about one statement to prosecutors. The PSOE in Baiona has accused the mayor of withholding the municipal secretary’s report and the record tied to the apartment license. The opposition says the town government is hiding public information and has threatened to go back to prosecutors if the blockage continues. So even if Bahamonde’s legal defense holds up, the town still has a transparency problem. (lavozdegalicia.es) ### Bottom line? Bahamonde’s defense is that the license was processed at arm’s length. The pressure on Baiona is that the whole setup may still look incompatible. Prosecutors now have to decide whether this was just bad optics — or a real abuse of office. (farodevigo.es)