Álvaro Polo Ernicas, new managing director of the Aragonese Institute of Social Services

The Government of Aragon has appointed Álvaro Polo Ernicas as managing director of the Aragonese Institute of Social Services (IASS), the autonomous body that manages the network of residences, dependency care, and social services of the community. The appointment is formalized through Decree 178/2026, of November 4, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA) number 214, of November 5, 2026, in section II on Authorities and Personnel.

The regulation bears the signature of the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón Navarro, and the Vice President and Councilor for Deregulation, Social Welfare and Family, Alejandro Nolasco Asensio, and was approved upon the proposal of the latter department. The text expressly states that the appointment takes effect «from the same day of its publication in the Official Gazette of Aragon», that is, from November 5 itself.

A decree with immediate effects

The decree is based on articles 10.6 and 12.32 of the consolidated text of the Law of the President and the Government of Aragon, approved by Legislative Decree 1/2022, of April 6, and article 15.3 of Law 4/1996, of May 22, regarding the Aragonese Institute of Social Services.

These are the same provisions that the regional Executive applied two months prior to formalize the departure of the previous office holder, confirming the continuity of the standard procedure for filling the managing director position of the organization.

Two months of vacancy in management

The position became vacant last September. Decree 148/2026, of September 2, arranged the cessation, at her own request, of Marta Isabel Tejero López as managing director of the IASS, effective from the day of its publication and with express gratitude for the services rendered. That decree was published in BOA number 171, of September 3, 2026.

The change in the institute’s leadership has not been the only movement this autumn. Decree 169/2026, of September 23, removed Víctor Solano Sainz as secretary general of the IASS, a career civil servant position with RPT number 11780 assigned to the department of Deregulation, Social Welfare and Family; that resolution was published in BOA number 191, of October 1, 2026.

The organization that attends to Aragonese dependency

The IASS was created by Law 4/1996, of May 22, as an autonomous body responsible, among other functions, for the care of people with disabilities and people in a situation of dependency. Its current assignment to the department led by Nolasco derives from the Decree of May 3, 2026, which reorganized the basic organic structure of the regional Administration and assigned competencies to the departments.

The managing director handles the ordinary activity of the organization, which in recent weeks has left several significant matters in the official bulletin itself:

• Order DBF/1575/2026, of October 27, which approves the bases and the call for individual grants for people with ALS in advanced stages admitted to residential centers, with a maximum global amount of 195,000 euros charged to the IASS budget (BOA number 211, of October 30).
• Order PJC/1340/2026, of September 3, which publishes the agreement with the Zaragoza City Council to manage emergency grants for the payment of energy consumption during 2026.
• The calls identified as IASS/11830 and IASS/11863, processed at the end of September.

A void contract on the same day

Polo Ernicas’ first day at the head of the institute coincides with the publication, in that same BOA number 214, of a resolution from the managing director dated October 20 declaring void the contract to acquire a property intended for a new IASS home for the elderly in the city of Huesca, file IASS-GGD-2026-0006.

The procedure began with a base tender budget of 2,037,400 euros, VAT included, approved by resolution on April 13, 2026, and bids closed on May 15, 2026, at 2:00 PM. The announcement was published in the Contractor Profile of the Public Sector Procurement Platform, in the BOA, on the IASS website, and on the notice board of the Huesca City Council.

The appointment comes after a quarter of changes at the top of the organization that channels a large part of Aragon’s social spending, from residential places to benefits linked to dependency, and ends the interim status of the managing director just as the institute faces the execution of new lines of aid and the search for locations for residential facilities in Huesca.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 214, of November 5, 2026, section II. Authorities and Personnel (official reference: BOA20261105001).