Tiana initially approves the internal alert system regulations and opens it for allegations

The Plenary of the Tiana City Council initially approved, in the session of October 6, 2026, the Operating Regulations of the Internal Alert System, the council’s internal whistleblowing channel. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on October 15, 2026, with the reference CVE 202610151870 and file 3950/2026, and submits the text to public information for thirty days for the examination of the file and the submission of allegations and suggestions.

The regulation complies with Law 2/2023, of February 20, on the protection of persons who report regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption, and regulates the operation of the city council’s internal information system and, where appropriate, of local public sector entities that share resources. The announcement, signed by the secretary Ricard Manzano Casalins on October 8, 2026, incorporates the full text as an annex and occupies pages 1 to 15 of the Local Administration section. The agreement empowers the mayor-president, Isaac Salvatierra i Pujol, to sign the documents and promote the necessary actions to comply with it.

A secure, confidential, and anonymous channel

The system is structured as the preferred means for submitting information, without prejudice to the right of the reporting person to go directly to the external channel of the competent authority. The internal channel will be electronic, specific, secure, and distinguishable, accessible from the electronic office or the municipal website, and will admit written communications, including anonymous ones, with interaction via code or identifier. Submission through other means is also provided for:

• By telephone or voice messaging.
• Through an in-person meeting at the request of the reporting person.
• In writing, by postal mail or appearance.

Verbal or in-person communications will be documented with prior consent through secure recording or full and exact transcription. The city council reserves the right to entrust an external third party with the instrumental management of the reception of communications.

The Special Anti-Fraud Unit assumes management

The person responsible for the system will be the Special Anti-Fraud Unit provided for in articles 7 and 8 of the municipal Code of Ethics, which will act as a collegiate body with functional independence and without being subject to hierarchical orders that condition its action. The person holding the position of Secretary is its spokesperson. The unit is composed of:

• The secretary or a person under their supervision.
• The comptroller or a person under their supervision.
• The ombudsman/defender of the citizens of Tiana.
• A city council official.

Members may not hold elected office or be temporary staff, and their appointment, removal, or termination must be notified to the independent whistleblower protection authority in Catalonia. The unit must issue an annual report on the actions carried out.

Deadlines, guarantees, and data protection

The deadlines set by the regulation are as follows:

• Seven calendar days to acknowledge receipt of the communication.
• Ten business days to respond to a request for additional information; if there is no response, archiving may be agreed upon.
• Three months as the maximum deadline to respond to investigation proceedings, extendable by up to three additional months in cases of special complexity.

The information register is not public and can only be accessed by judicial order. Personal data must be deleted if three months pass from receipt without investigation proceedings being initiated, and the maximum retention period in the register is ten years. The affected person has the right to be informed of the facts attributed to them, to make allegations, and to act assisted by a lawyer or union representative, but under no circumstances will the identity of the whistleblower be revealed.

Publicity and transparency

Once the regulation becomes final and enters into force, the city council must enable a separate, clearly identifiable, and easily accessible section on the electronic office or the municipal website, with information on the existence and use of the internal channel, the basic principles of the procedure, the conditions to benefit from the protection of Law 2/2023, the external channels, the confidentiality regime, and the possibility of submitting anonymous communications. Furthermore, all particular administrative clauses specifications must include an annex with information for the contractor regarding the internal alert system.

The regulation places Tiana within the local deployment of Law 2/2023 and turns the reporting channel into a regulated obligation for the city council, with explicit guarantees for whistleblowers. The thirty days of public information open the door for citizens and entities to submit allegations before the initial approval becomes final.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona, October 15, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-15 (official reference: CVE 202610151870).