EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATIONS

I, Angel Alvarez-Perez, certify that:

     1.   I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of First BanCorp.;

     2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
          statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
          under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this report;

     3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
          information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
          material respects the financial condition, results of operations and
          cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in
          this report;

     4.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
          establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
          defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
          registrant and have:

               (a)  Designed such disclosure controls, or caused such disclosure
                    controls and procedures to be designed under our
                    supervision, and procedures to ensure that material
                    information relating to the registrant, including its
                    consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                    within those entities, particularly during the period in
                    which this quarterly report is being prepared;

               (b)  Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                    controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior
                    to the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation
                    Date"), and

               (c)  Presented in this report our conclusions about the
                    effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures
                    based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date.

     5.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
          on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
          reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the
          registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
          functions):

               (a)  All significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                    internal control which could adversely affect the
                    registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
                    report financial data and have identified for the
                    registrant's auditors any material weakness in internal
                    control; and

               (b)  Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                    or other employees who have a significant role in the
                    registrant's internal control.

     6.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I have indicated in this
          quarterly report whether or not there were any significant changes in
          internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect
          internal controls subsequent to the date of our most recent
          evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to
          significant deficiencies and material weakness.

Date: November 14, 2003                          By: /s/ ANGEL ALVAREZ-PEREZ
                                                     ---------------------------
                                                     Angel Alvarez-Perez, Esq.
                                                     Chairman, President and
                                                     Chief Executive Officer