The lawyer of Department of Tourism (DOT) secretary Wanda Teo confirmed on Monday, May 5, that the tourism chief’s brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo will return the Php60-million they received to play DOT advertisements on their show, “Kilos Pronto”.
Teo’s lawyer and spokesperson Ferdinand Topacio said the brothers will find a way to return the money.
“Bagama’t wala po sa kaniya (Erwin Tulfo) iyung P60 million at nagastos na po, gagawa po sila ng paraan at io-offer nila na ibalik na po up to the last centavo kung anuman po ang naibayad sa kanila,” the lawyer told DZMM.
Topacio added that Teo’s husband, Roberto Teo, has also tendered his resignation from his post as chairman of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), the infrastructure arm of the DOT.
“Ngayon po, hindi na po siya a-attend ng board meeting. He’s urging the President to please accept his resignation,” he added.
Earlier, the Commission on Audit (COA) questioned the release of Php60-million to the Tulfo brothers’ TV show.
The deal, which was divided into three payment schemes, P22.09 million in May, P18.96 million in November and another P18.96 million in December, lacked a memorandum of agreement or contract, COA said.
In defense, Teo said there was no conflict of interest in the deal since it happened between DOT and PTV 4, not between DOT and Kilos Pronto producers, Bitag Media Unlimited Inc (BMUI), which is also owned by the brothers.
The tourism secretary added it was PTV 4’s decision to air the ads on her brothers’ show mainly due to its high ratings.
Ben Tulfo also gave a statement regarding the issue saying BMUI is working as “content provider for any network” and did not intervene in the deal between PTV and DOT.
