Filipino actress Anne Curtis has broken her silence over her husband’s involvement in the P80-million “Buhay Carinderia” project of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).
Heussaff, who was the project’s official content creator, has not yet released a statement ever since the Buhay Carinderia, an initiative that aims to promote Filipino home-cooked cuisines, and its funding has been questioned by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
After the controversy erupted, Curtis stepped in to defend her husband and “made it clear that [Erwan] has nothing to do with the controversy”, according to a report by Bernie V. Franco.
“I know where Erwan’s heart is talaga when it comes to that: it’s always about pushing the Filipino food. Yun lang naman ang gusto niya, ma-highlight ang pagkain ng mga Pilipino, so I support him with that,” Curtis said.
The Filipina actress also shared the piece of advice she gave to Heussaff amid the controversy.
“Being someone kasi who is not a stranger to her own controversies, I always tell them… I told this to my sister [actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith], I told this to Erwan, na parang this too shall pass. Basta you know where your heart is, you don’t have to worry about it,” she said.
Heussaff became part of the said project in April, a month before it came under scrutiny.
It can be recalled that DOT secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and actor Cesar Montano previously discussed the controversy surrounding the TPB’s Buhay Carinderia initiative..
The project allegedly did not undergo bidding process and was paid in full before completion.
The newly-appointed DOT secretary also met with Montano to hear his side regarding reports that claim he only spoke for two minutes during an event in New York City to be able to catch a musical play.
Organizers of the event and the audience were allegedly disappointed by Montano’s unprofessionalism.
Since then, Montano has officially resigned as chief operating officer of the TPB.
